S.Korea's business sentiment worsens for 3 months in March over higher raw mater

Sentiment among South Korean businesses over economic situation worsened for the third straight month due to higher raw materials price, central bank data showed Thursday.

The business sentiment index (BSI) stood at 83 in March, down 2 points from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The index below 100 indicates pessimists outnumbering optimists. It was based on a survey of 1,623 manufacturers and 1,130 non-manufacturers conducted from March 16 to March 23.

The BSI continued to slide since January due to higher commodity price that raised production expense. The spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 Omicron variant also contributed to the worsened business sentiment.

The BSI among manufacturers declined 7 points over the month to 84 in March, marking the lowest since February last year.

The index for non-manufacturers was unchanged at 81 in March compared to the previous month.