South Korea consumer confidence dips for the first time

The majority of economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the BoK to hike its benchmark rate during one of its three remaining policy-setting meetings this year, with a few seeing a move as early as in August.

SEOUL: South Korean consumers turned less optimistic about the economy as the country grapples with its worst coronavirus outbreak to date, a development that will be closely watched by the central bank as it mulls when to start raising interest rates.

The consumer sentiment index slipped for the first time this year to 103.2 in July from 110.3 a month earlier, the Bank of Korea (BoK) said in a statement yesterday.