SEOUL, March 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korean consumer confidence kept an upward trend, reflecting high expectations for economic recovery, central bank data showed Thursday.
Composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) stood at 108 in March, unchanged from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
After hitting a bottom in September last year with 102, the figure continued to rise to the three-year high of 109 in January.
The index, based on survey response from more than 2,000 households, stayed above the benchmark 100 for 15 months in a row.
South Korea's real GDP growth in 2013 was revised up to 3 percent Wednesday from 2.8 percent estimated two months earlier amid upbeat figures of exports and private consumption.
Sub-indices showed a roughly positive picture. Consumer sentiment on current living standards fell 2 points from a month earlier to 91, but the figure for prospective living standards was unchanged at 101. Sentiment on current economic conditions increased 3 points to 88 in March, and the reading for prospective economic situation rose 3 points to 102.
Inflation expectations among consumers over the next 12 months stood at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in March, down 0.1 percentage point from a month earlier.
Consumer prices gained 1 percent in February from a year earlier, staying below the BOK's mid-term inflation target band of 2.5-3.5 percent for 21 months in a row.
|
