Overview

• The Bank of Korea’s consumer gauge rose to 111.4 in August, the highest since January 2018 and up 0.6 point from July, with the current conditions subindex jumping by 7 points.
• Corporate sentiment reached a nine-month high as the Composite Business Sentiment Index climbed to 91.0, with manufacturing at 93.3, non-manufacturing at 89.4, and the September outlook improving to 91.8.
• Exports underpinned the upswing, rising 7.6% year over year in the first 20 days of August after a 5.9% gain in July, led by semiconductors and automobiles.
• Government support lifted spending, with consumer coupons tied to a supplementary budget pushing small-business card sales up 6.44% from July 21 to Aug. 17 and July retail sales up 0.5% month on month.
• Risks persist as the future economic outlook index fell to 100 on tariff concerns, even though a late-July U.S. deal set reciprocal tariffs at 15% in return for a $350 billion Korean investment pledge and the housing price outlook rose to 111.