SEOUL, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Sentiment for South Korean businesses over economic situation improved for a second straight month thanks to a boom in semiconductor exports, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The composite business sentiment index (CBSI) in all industries increased 4.0 points from a month earlier to 98.9 in May, after going up 0.8 points in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
It marked the highest in over three years since October 2022.
The consecutive improvement was attributed to strong demand for locally-made chips used for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure that offset the lingering Middle East tensions.
The CBSI among manufacturers gained 1.7 points to 100.8, and the index for non-manufacturers climbed 5.4 points to 97.5 due to the recovery of business conditions in the transportation and warehousing and the wholesale and retail sectors.
The result was based on a survey of 1,791 manufacturers and 1,410 non-manufacturers conducted between May 11 and 18.
Manufacturers selected higher raw materials price, economic uncertainty, and weak domestic demand as key barriers to doing business, while non-manufacturers picked commodity price hike, uncertain economic situation and faltering consumer demand.
The economic sentiment index (ESI), which reflects sentiment among both businesses and consumers, stood at 97.5 in May, up 5.8 points from a month earlier. ■