Korea: Business confidence rises but remains pessimistic in February
Business confidence among manufacturing firms came in at 81.0 in February, up from January’s 77.0 and returning to December’s level. Consequently, the index moved closer to the 100-point threshold, but still indicated pessimism among businesses.
The rebound was mainly led by improved sentiment in domestic demand-oriented manufacturing firms, and to a lesser extent in export-oriented firms. The uptick was felt across all components, with firms’ views on profitability becoming less downbeat and greater optimism regarding raw material prices. Moreover, expectations on sales prices turned positive. Sentiment among non-manufacturing firms also improved in February.