SEOUL, July 23 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's consumer sentiment improved for the fourth consecutive month owing to a recovery in consumption and exports, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The composite consumer sentiment index, which gauges the sentiment of consumers over the economic situation, mounted 2.1 points over the month to 110.8 in July, continuing to go up since April, according to the Bank of Korea.
The consecutive growth was attributed to a recovery in consumption and exports that offset the negative effect of the U.S. tariffs imposition.
The Lee Jae-myung government, which was inaugurated on June 4, began to implement its supplementary budget this month to bolster the sagging domestic demand.
The sub-index for the current economic situation soared 12 points to 86 in July compared to the previous month, but the index for economic outlook slipped 1 point to 106.
The index for prospective consumption expenditure added 1 point to 111 in the cited month.
Inflation expectations, which measure the outlook among consumers over headline inflation for the next 12 months, climbed 0.1 percentage point to 2.5 percent in July on a monthly basis.
After peaking at 4.7 percent in July 2022, the inflation expectations had roughly been on the decline.
The result was based on a survey of 2,286 households conducted from July 8 to 15. ■
