S. Korean manufacturing sentiment edges up for June

By Park Bo-ram
SEOUL, May 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's manufacturing confidence for June inched
up on a stronger local currency and the bullish stock market, but it was still
below par, the central bank said Friday.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a monthly report that its business survey index
(BSI) for manufacturers rose to 76 for June from 71 in May, the highest since 78
for October.
A reading below 100 indicates pessimists outnumber optimists. The nationwide poll
of 2,193 companies was conducted from May 15-22.
Since hitting its lowest level in January, manufacturers' confidence in an
economic recovery bounced back "as a strengthening local currency and rising
equity prices revived hopes," said a BOK official. "A stronger local unit usually
boosts corporate performance by pushing down import prices and reducing foreign
currency-denominated debts."
The latest report is in line with a report on buoyed consumer sentiment released
by the central bank earlier this week. The measure of local households' sentiment
rose to a nearly two-year high of 105 in May from 98 a month earlier.
The upbeat data comes as a set of improving economic data is reinforcing optimism
that the Korean economy may be approaching its bottom.
Asia's fourth-largest economy narrowly averted a recession, or two consecutive
quarters of contraction, in the first quarter by growing 0.1 percent from three
months earlier. It shrank 5.1 percent in the final quarter of 2008.
The key stock gauge KOSPI gained 21 percent so far this year, while the South
Korean won gained 25 percent against the U.S. greenback since hitting an 11-year
low in early March.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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