S. Korea's consumer confidence improves for 4 months

Confidence among South Korean consumers over economic conditions improved for four straight months, showing signs of a full-fledged recovery from the deadly viral disease effect, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI), which gauges consumers' assessment and outlook for economic conditions, rose two points from a month earlier to 105 in October, according to the Bank of Korea.

It was identical to the figure tallied in May, a month before the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) peaked in June.

The reading shed to 99 in June as consumers refrained from outside activity for contagion fears, but it continued to rise for four months in a row, indicating a recovery in sentiment among consumers.

The government rolled out billions of U.S. dollars of a fiscal stimulus package, including a supplementary budget plan for the second half, and the central bank cut its policy rate by a quarter percentage point in June to an all-time low of 1.5 percent.

The reading above 100 means optimistic views outstripped pessimistic ones.

Sub-indices showed an upbeat picture. Sentiment about current economic conditions advanced eight points from a month earlier to 81 in October, marking the highest in 13 months. The figure for prospective economic conditions over the next six months rose three points to 91.

Inflation expectations, which measures consumers' outlook for headline inflation over the next 12 months, made no change at 2.5 percent in October compared with the previous month.

The expected consumer price inflation stayed at 2.5 percent for four months through June, before gaining to 2.6 percent in July. It fell again to 2.5 percent in August and September. Enditem