SEOUL, March 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's consumer sentiment worsened this month amid escalating Middle East tensions, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI), which gauges the sentiment of consumers over the economic situation, declined 5.1 points from a month earlier to 107.0 in March, marking the first downturn in three months, according to the Bank of Korea.
Concerns over inflation and economic slowdown, driven by the Middle East conflict, along with heightened financial market volatility, fueled pessimistic economic sentiment.
The sub-index for the current economic situation dived 9 points to 86 in March compared to the previous month, while the index for economic outlook tumbled 13 points to 89.
Inflation expectations, which measure consumer outlook over headline inflation for the next 12 months, added 0.1 percentage points to 2.7 percent in March on a monthly basis.
The result was based on a survey of 2,266 households conducted from March 10 to 17. ■
