Korea: Consumer confidence falls into pessimistic territory in May
The Bank of Korea’s composite consumer sentiment index fell to 97.9 points in May from 101.6 points in April. Accordingly, the index now lies below the 100-point threshold that separates pessimism from optimism among households.
The pullback in consumer confidence came on the back of a broad-based deterioration in confidence factors. The largest retreat in confidence stemmed from consumer views on current and future domestic economic conditions, both of which sharply fell further into pessimistic territory. In addition, consumers felt less confident about current and future living standards, future household income and future spending levels.