Business sentiment slightly improves for June

SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korean's business sentiment slightly improved for June, a central bank survey showed Wednesday.

The business sentiment index (BSI) for local companies came to 87 for June, up one point from the previous month, according to the poll by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The BSI for manufacturers fell from 88 to 87 over the period, amid rising costs and the COVID-19-related lockdown of Chinese cities.

The BSI for non-manufacturing businesses rose from 85 to 86 due to the loosening of social distancing rules against COVID-19.

The index measures corporate prospects for business conditions in the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.

The BSI for large companies rose from 92 to 93 over the period, with that for smaller firms falling from 83 to 80.

The BSI for exporters climbed from 93 to 97, while the index for domestic demand-oriented businesses declined from 85 to 81, the survey showed.

The survey was conducted on 2,789 companies across the nation from May 10-17.

jwc@yna.co.kr
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