Korean consumer sentiment up from 10-year low in Jan.

SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer sentiment rebounded from a
10-year low in January on expectations that a set of economic stimulus packages
would help prop up the slumping economy, the central bank said Wednesday.

According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), the consumer survey index (CSI) -- a gauge
of consumers' overall sense of their economic outlook, living conditions and
future spending -- rose to 84 in January, compared with 81 the previous month.
The figure for December marked the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 1998
when the index reached 80.
"A series of rate cuts and economic stimulus plans helped ease concerns over the
sharply slowing economy," said BOK official Huh Sang-do. "But a marginal rise in
the January index also comes as the CSI severely deteriorated in December. Amid
the economic downturn, consumer sentiment will likely remain sluggish down the
road."
A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey of 2,200
households in 56 major cities was taken from Jan. 13-20.
The results come as the South Korean economy shrank a whopping 5.6 percent last
quarter from three months earlier amid tumbling exports and weak domestic demand.
In January, the BOK cut the key interest rate by half a percentage point to a
record low of 2.5 percent, the fifth reduction in three months. Since October,
the bank has trimmed the rate by a combined 2.75 percentage points.
The government, for its part, has unveiled tax cuts worth 35 trillion won ($25.2
billion) and has planned for 16 trillion won in additional spending.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)