SEOUL, June 24 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's consumer sentiment improved for the third straight month on expectations for a new government and its supplementary budget plan, central bank data showed Tuesday.
The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI), which gauges the sentiment of consumers over economic situation, increased 6.9 points from a month earlier to 108.7 in June after going up 0.4 points in April and 8.0 points in May, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The consecutive growth was attributable to the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration in June and its extra budget plan to bolster the sagging consumer demand.
Lee's predecessor was removed from office over the botched martial law bid last December, and a snap presidential election was held on June 3.
The sub-index for the current economic situation soared 11 points to 74 in June compared to the previous month, and the index for economic outlook spiked 16 points to 107.
Inflation expectations, which measure the outlook among consumers over headline inflation for the next 12 months, retreated 0.2 percentage points to 2.4 percent in June on a monthly basis.
After peaking at 4.7 percent in July 2022, the inflation expectations had roughly been on the decline.
The result was based on a survey of 2,289 households conducted from June 10 to 17. ■
