S. Korea's consumer confidence rebounds

Confidence among South Korean consumers rebounded first in four months, but it was still in a relatively low level amid uncertainties at home and abroad, central bank data showed Tuesday.

Composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI), which reflects consumers' assessment of economic conditions, stood at 102 for January, up 1 point from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

After peaking at 107 in September, the figure kept falling to 101 in December before rising in the first month of this year. Consumer sentiment tends to increase in January due to a so-called January effect.

The CCSI rebounded in January, but it was still lower than 104 tallied in May 2014 when the deadly ferry sinking disaster, which killed 304 passengers, mostly high school students, weighed down on private consumption.

To boost sentiment among economic agents, the government unveiled a fiscal stimulus and the BOK cut its policy rate to a record low of 2 percent in 2014.

Despite fiscal and monetary stimulus, the central bank revised down its 2015 growth outlook for 3.4 percent from 3.9 percent, sparking worries about the Asia's fourth-largest economy.

External uncertainties remained over the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate hike within this year, volatile global oil prices and possible exit of Greece from the euro zone.

Inflation expectations among consumers over the next 12 months were unchanged at 2.6 percent in January from the previous month.

It marked the lowest since the BOK began compiling the data in February 2002, maintaining concerns about the possible trigger of deflation. Endi