South Korea's business sentiment remained below par for October amid growing concerns over an economic slowdown, a poll showed Tuesday.
The business survey index (BSI) for 374 out of the country's top 600 companies by sales stood at 90.6 for next month, down 6.3 points from September, according to the poll by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI).
It marks the largest monthly drop in 26 months since August 2021, when the index sank 7.1 points on-month amid a resurgence of COVID-19.
The BSI for the manufacturing industry came to 88.1 for October, with the index for the nonmanufacturing sector reaching 93.3.
The index for manufacturers has fallen for 19 months on end, and that for nonmanufacturing firms has declined for three straight months.
A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark means the opposite.
The FKI, the lobby for the country's family-controlled conglomerates, attributed the weak October reading to the country's weak exports and consumer spending.
The BSI for overseas shipments stood at 94.1 for the coming month, while the index for domestic demand and investment amounted to 96.5 and 95.4, respectively.
October represents the 16th consecutive month that the figures for the three sectors have simultaneously decreased on-month.
South Korea has been dogged by slumping exports and sluggish consumer spending. In August, its exports fell 8.4 percent on-year, marking the 11th consecutive month of decline.
Domestic consumption has also been in the doldrums amid high interest rates and consumer inflation.
According to a separate poll, South Korean smaller companies also expect their business conditions to worsen in October.
The survey of 3,055 small and midsized enterprises (SMEs) said the small business health index (SBHI) amounted to 82.7 for next month, down 1 point from a month earlier.
The SBHI for the manufacturing sector came to 88.5 for October, up 1.4 points from the prior month, but that for nonmanufacturing companies fell by 2.1 points to 80.1.
The average capacity utilization rate of manufacturing SMEs stood at 72.1 percent in August, unchanged from the previous month, according to the poll taken by the Korea Federation of SMEs from Aug. 11-18.
Source: Yonhap News Agency