Concerns over the prolonged economic slowdown is affecting overall consumer confidence here in South Korea.
In fact, consumers in the country haven't felt this negatively about the local economy since February of last year.
Ko Roon-hee reports.
South Korea's consumer confidence slumped to a 21-month low in November... on growing concerns over the slowing domestic economy and the trade war between the United States and China.
According to the Bank of Korea on Tuesday, its composite consumer sentiment index was at 96-points... down three-and-a-half points from October.
A reading below 100 indicates there are more pessimists than optimists about the economy.
The index has been falling for two consecutive months... after a rebound in September.
November's figure is as low as the period when former President Park Geun-hye was removed from power early last year on corruption and other charges.
However, the central bank said it's relatively hard to directly compare figures for the periods before and after September as it changed the household samples for the survey last month.
As for what's at the root of the low sentiment, the Bank of Korea says consumers are worried the local economy is slowing down,... due to trade tensions between the United States and China.
Washington is set to raise tariffs on 200-billion U.S. dollars worth of Chinese imports to 25 percent from 10 percent in January...if Presidents Trump and Xi fail to reach an agreement at the upcoming G20 meeting in Argentina.
The OECD warned last week that the trade spat could knock as much as 0-point-8 percent off global GDP by 2021.
Sluggish job data was another factor.
According to Statistics Korea, South Korea's overall unemployment rate was three-and-a-half percent last month,... the highest figure for the month of October since 2005.
The Bank of Korea also said plunging stock prices affected overall consumer confidence.
October was a brutal month for local stocks…with the benchmark KOSPI tumbling by almost 14 percent -- its largest on-month decline since 2008.
Ko Roon-hee, Arirang News.
