Biz outlook worsens for Feb. amid recession woes

SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's business sentiment worsened for February as worries over high inflation, monetary tightening and an economic slump weighed on sentiment, a central bank poll showed Friday.

Local companies' business sentiment index (BSI) for February came to 68, down 2 points from what was tallied for the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

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

Business sentiment worsened as worries are mounting that rising interest rates enforced to fight inflation could excessively cool economic growth.

The BSI for manufacturers stood at 65 for February, down from the previous month's 68. The index for nonmanufacturing firms was also down 2 points over the same period to 70, the data showed.

The BSI for large companies dropped from 71 to 67, but the figure for small and medium-sized enterprises remained unchanged at 64.

The survey was conducted on 2,739 firms, including 1,636 manufacturers, from Jan. 10 to 17, the BOK said.

kokobj@yna.co.kr
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