Since hitting a seven-year high of one-hundred-and-twelve in November, Korea's consumer sentiment index has been on a steady decline.<br />Kim Hyesung has the details. <br /> <br /> South Korea's consumer sentiment fell for a fourth consecutive month in March.<br />According to the Bank of Korea, the composite consumer sentiment index edged down zero-point-one points from the previous month to 108-point-one-- the lowest level since October.<br />The reading is well above 100, meaning there are still more optimists than pessimists.<br /> But a sub-index on households’ perception of the current domestic economic conditions dropped to a six-month-low of 87 index points in March, while the sub-index for future prospects inched down one point from February’s 98. <br /> The Central Bank attributed the fall to growing worries over trade protectionism and the U.S.-China trade spat that could hurt Korean exports to the world’s first and second-largest economies.<br />The restructuring of local shipbuilding companies and the GM Korea shutdown also dampened consumer confidence. <br />The survey respondents were less pessimistic about future job searches, which climbed one index point from February to record 94. <br /> The expected inflation rate over the next 12 months was 2-point-6 percent in March, holding steady since January.<br />Kim Hyesung, Arirang News. <br />
