South Korea's business sentiment improves in July for third month

A woman crosses the road in front of the Bank of Korea in Seoul on July 23, 2020. According to the bank, the business sentiment index stood at 60 in July, up 4 points from the previous month. - AFP

SEOUL (Xinhua): Sentiment among South Korean businesses over economic situation improved for three straight months to July, central bank data showed Thursday (July 30).

The business sentiment index (BSI) stood at 60 in July, up 4 points from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading below 100 means pessimists outnumbering optimists.

The index continued to rise for the third consecutive month, showing signs of recovery. It slipped to 51 in April on an economic fallout from the Covid-19 outbreak across the world.

The BSI among manufacturers advanced six points from a month earlier to 57 in July, marking the biggest monthly increase since October 2013.

The index for non-manufacturers added two points to 62 in the month, keeping an upward trend for four months in a row.

The government unveiled a total of 250 trillion won (US$210 billion) worth of stimulus packages to financially support micro-business owners, small firms and big corporations that suffered from losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

It also announced the country's biggest-ever supplementary budget worth 35.1 trillion won ($30 billion) that was passed through the parliament earlier this month.