Korea: Forward-looking business confidence slips for June
The Bank of Korea’s forward-looking business confidence indicator (BSI) for the manufacturing sector fell to 80 points for June from 81 points for May. Consequently, the indicator remained below the 100-point threshold for June, signaling another month of pessimism among Korean manufacturers.
The indicator components showed that, for June, export-oriented manufacturers grew more pessimistic regarding business conditions. On the other hand, businesses on the whole reported improved profitability expectations, along with better expectations of sales, raw material purchase prices and sales prices.
Meanwhile, confidence among non-manufacturing businesses—the mainstay of the Korean economy—increased to 82 points for June from 81 points for May.