Korea's business sentiment for September improves slightly, remains below par

Korea's business sentiment slightly improved for September, but it still remains much below par amid the continued spread of coronavirus and worries over global inflation, a central bank poll showed Wednesday.

Local companies' business sentiment index (BSI) for September came to 82, up 3 points from the corresponding figure tallied the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The BSI for manufacturers rose 4 points on month to 82 for September, with the index for non-manufacturing firms also rising 2 points to 82.

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

Business sentiment improved slightly despite the continued spread of coronavirus and worries over inflation here and in major economies, the BOK said.

The BSI for automakers jumped 23 points, while those for the non-metal sector gained 22 points, the survey showed.

The BSI for large companies rose 3 points, and the index for small- and medium-sized enterprises gained 5 points.

The survey was conducted on a total of 2,821 firms, including 1,662 manufacturers, from Aug. 9 to 17, the BOK said.

Yonhap