South Korea's February consumer sentiment picks up to 3-month high

[SEOUL] Consumer sentiment in South Korea picked up for a second month in February to its highest in three months, a central bank survey showed on Wednesday, lending strength to the economy's fragile recovery.

The Bank of Korea said its composite consumer sentiment index, ticked up to 103 in February from 102 in January. This was the highest the index has been since November last year.

A reading above 100 indicates consumers are more positive about conditions over the coming months compared to the long-term average sentiment accumulated from 2003 to 2014.

The index was last below 100 in December 2012.

Wednesday's data comes as policymakers grow increasingly positive about the economy's recovery, which is still shaky but is expected to pick up momentum on the back of improvements in advanced economies and low oil prices.

The central bank said in the same statement that the median expected consumer inflation rate for the next 12 months stood at 2.6 per cent in February's survey, unchanged for a third consecutive month.

The Bank of Korea said it surveyed more than 2,000 households nationwide from Feb 9 to 16.

REUTERS