(MENAFN) South Korea’s consumer sentiment strengthened for the fifth consecutive month in August, driven by a rebound in consumption and exports, the Bank of Korea reported Tuesday.

The composite consumer sentiment index, which gauges public perception of the economic landscape, increased by 0.6 points to reach 111.4, marking a steady climb since April, according to the central bank’s data.

This sustained improvement reflects a resurgence in domestic spending and export performance that counterbalanced the adverse impact of U.S. tariffs.

The administration of President Lee Jae-myung, inaugurated in early June, enacted an additional budget aimed at stimulating consumer demand through cash handouts.

Exports expanded 5.9 percent in July year-on-year, extending a positive trend for a second consecutive month.

Breaking down the components, the sub-index assessing the current economic situation rose sharply by 7 points to 93 in August, while the outlook index for the economy slipped by 6 points to 100.

Meanwhile, the indicator for anticipated consumption expenditure held steady at 111 for the month.

Inflation expectations, which reflect consumer projections for headline inflation over the next 12 months, edged up 0.1 percentage point to 2.6 percent in August on a monthly basis.

After hitting a peak of 4.7 percent in July 2022, inflation expectations had generally been trending downward.

The survey underpinning these findings involved 2,278 households interviewed between August 11 and 19.

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