According to the December business survey released by the Bank of Korea on the 30th, the business sentiment index (CBSI) for all industries this month was 93.7, up 1.6 points (p) from the previous month.
This is the highest in 1 year and 5 months since July of last year (95.5).
CBSI is a psychological indicator calculated based on major indices (5 manufacturing and 4 non-manufacturing industries) among the Business Survey Index (BSI). If it is above the past (January 2003 to December 2024) average (100), business sentiment regarding the overall economy is optimistic, and if it is below it, it means pessimistic.
By industry, the manufacturing CBSI (94.4) increased by 1.7 points compared to November, mainly due to funding conditions (+0.9 points) and production (+0.4 points).
Non-manufacturing CBSI (93.2) also rose by 1.4 points as sales (+0.6 point) and financial conditions (+0.5 point) improved.
The CBSI forecast for January next year was 93.6, up 1.9 points for the manufacturing industry, and 86.6, down 4.1 points for the non-manufacturing industry. All industries fell 1.7 points to 89.4.
In particular, it was noteworthy that the CBSI forecast for export companies in January of next year was 98.1, the highest level since September 2022 (99.7).
Lee Hye-young, head of the Bank of Korea’s economic sentiment research team, explained, “”Year-end seasonal factors mainly had a positive effect on the non-manufacturing industry,” and “the manufacturing industry also rose due to the improvement in industries related to U.S. facility investment.”
Team leader Lee said, “A rise in the exchange rate is a positive factor for exporting companies,” but “It does not seem to have a significant impact on the exchange rate overall.”
Looking at the Business Survey Index (BSI) flow by detailed industry, among manufacturing industries, metal processing, other mechanical equipment, and automobiles have improved.
In the non-manufacturing industry, the situation improved, focusing on professional, scientific and technological services, wholesale and retail, and information and communication industries.
The December Economic Sentiment Index (ESI), which reflects the Consumer Trend Index (CSI) in the BSI, was 93.1, down 1.0 points from November. The ESI cyclical fluctuation value, which removes seasonal factors, was 94.9, up 0.7 points.
This survey was conducted on 3,524 companies nationwide from the 11th to the 18th. Of these, 3,255 companies (1,824 in the manufacturing industry and 1,431 in the non-manufacturing industry) responded.