Korea: Consumer confidence creeps up in December but remains downbeat
The Bank of Korea’s composite consumer sentiment index rose to 97.2 points in December, which is up from November’s near two-year low of 96.0 points but still below the 100-point threshold that separates pessimism from optimism among households.
Consumer views on current living standards became more pessimistic in December, while their opinions regarding both current and prospective domestic economic conditions remained bleak, likely in part due to the U.S.-China trade war. Meanwhile, views on households’ prospective living standards, incomes and spending abilities all improved slightly in December, possibly due to the imminent minimum wage hike from January 2019, when the minimum wage will increase 10.9%.