Korean consumer sentiment inches up in Feb.

SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's consumer sentiment slightly rose in February on expectations that the government's economic stimulus package would help prop up the slowing economy, the central bank said Tuesday.

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 85 in February, compared to 84 the previous month.
The December CSI hit a 10-year low at 81 as private spending, hit by the slumping
economy, continued to weaken.
"Although the index rose, it does not mean that consumer sentiment has started to
look up," said BOK official Huh Sang-do. "It is fair to say that deteriorating
sentiment was somewhat eased in February, and amid the economic downturn,
consumer sentiment will likely remain sluggish."
A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey of 2,200
households in 56 major cities was taken from Feb. 11-18.
The results come as the South Korean economy shrank 5.6 percent last quarter from
three months earlier amid tumbling exports and weak domestic demand. Asia's
fourth-largest economy is widely expected to post negative growth this year, the
first annual contraction since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.
On Dec. 12, the BOK cut the key interest rate by half a percentage point to a
record low of 2 percent, the sixth reduction in four months, to jump start the
sputtering economy. Since October, the bank has trimmed the rate by 3.25
percentage points.
The government, on its part, has unveiled tax cuts worth 35 trillion won (US$23.6
billion) and has planned for 16 trillion won in additional spending. It is
pushing for a supplementary budget to generate jobs and keep the economy from
sliding deeper into a recession.
sooyeon@yna.co.kr