South Korean manufacturing confidence for September improved for the second month, but more than half of the nation's manufacturers were pessimistic about business conditions next month, the central bank said Thursday.
According to the Bank of Korea, the business survey index (BSI) for manufacturers advanced to 95 for September from 89 a month earlier. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumbers optimists.
The September BSI was the highest since reaching 97 in April last year.
"Business confidence among large corporations, smaller firms, exporters and companies targeting the domestic market all improved from a month earlier," the central bank said in a statement.
The index for large companies went up from 98 for August to 103 for next month. The BSI for September rose above the 100-level mark for the first time in one and a half years, meaning optimists outnumber pessimists.
Exporters' business sentiment also climbed to 100 for September from 93 a month ago, hitting the 100-mark for the first time since February last year.
The index measuring manufacturers' current business sentiment fell to 85 in August from 87 last month due to concerns over the local currency's gain against the greenback and rising raw material prices.
The BSI for non-manufacturers rose to 89 for September from 86 a month earlier, but the current sentiment index dropped to 84 in August from 86 in the previous month.
The BSI figures for September were based on a nationwide survey of 2,420 companies taken Aug. 16-23, the central bank said.