Biz outlook worsens amid inflation, economic slump woes

business outlook-December

Biz outlook worsens amid inflation, economic slump woes

SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean's business outlook worsened for December amid mounting woes over global inflation and an economic slump, a central bank poll showed Wednesday.

Local companies' business sentiment index (BSI) for December came to 74, down 2 points from what was predicted for the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

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

Business sentiment worsened as worries are mounting that high inflation and high interest rates will weigh down economic growth.

The BSI for manufacturers fell from 73 to 69 and the index for non-manufacturing firms was also down from 78 to 77, the data showed.

The BSI for large companies remained unchanged at 75 for December, but the figure for small and medium-sized enterprise fell 7 points to 62.

The survey was conducted on a total of 2,782 firms, including 1,628 manufacturers, from Nov. 8 to 15, the BOK said.

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