5월 소비 코로나 이전 수준 회복...6월 기업경기실사지수 제조•비제조업 모두 개선<br /><br />South Korea's consumption edged up in May,... thanks to government policies like emergency disaster relief funds.<br />And skepticism about South Korea's business outlook also slightly eased in June.<br />Our Kim Jae-hee has this report.<br />South Korea's strong response to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as providing emergency disaster relief funds, led consumption in May to recover to levels seen before the COVID-19 outbreak.<br />According to data released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday, retail sales jumped 4-point-6 percent on-month in May.<br />"Retail sales in May have gone up by 4-point-6 percent on-month and by 1-point-7 percent on-year. The figure saw an on-month rise for the second consecutive month,... mainly due to the slowing down of the COVID-19 outbreak and rise in consumer spending,... thanks to payouts of the emergency disaster relief funds, and recovering domestic car sales."<br />But the same data also showed that South Korea's industrial output continued its downward trend,... falling 1-point-2 percent on-month in May.<br />Facility investment was down 5-point-9 percent on-month.<br />But South Korea's business sentiment has improved in June, thanks to government policies and a slight recovery in exports.<br />Data from the Bank of Korea showed on Tuesday that the Business Sentiment Index for all industries in June was up 3 points on-month to 56.<br />By sector, the BSI among manufacturers was up 2 points to 51, and for non-manufacturers it was up 4 points to 60.<br />The BSI of export companies soared 6 points the steepest rise since September 2017.<br />The Economic Sentiment Index which measures the economic outlook for both companies and households was up 5-point-3 points on-month to 63-point-1.<br />But some experts say it's a bit early to be too optimistic, as the figures still remain far below 100, meaning pessimists outnumber optimists.<br />Kim Jae-hee, Arirang News.<br />
