Optimism wanes over business conditions in Feb.

SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- Major South Korean businesses expect conditions to
improve next month, but are less optimistic than they were in January, due to
renewed concerns over stagnating economic growth and weaker consumption, a
private survey showed Thursday.

The monthly business sentiment index by the Federation of Korean Industries, the
nation's biggest business lobby, stood at 102.3 in February, down from 103.1 in
January.
Although the index remained above 100, meaning most companies surveyed anticipate
business conditions will improve in the coming month, it has fallen for the fifth
consecutive month.
"Signs of renewed lethargy and weaker domestic consumption weighed on the index,"
the federation said in a statement.
South Korea's gross domestic product grew 0.2 percent in the final three months
of last year, compared with a 3.2 percent growth for the previous quarter, the
Bank of Korea said this week.
The fourth quarter figure suggests that the country's rapid recovery from the
global economic downturn is losing momentum.
(END)

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