S. Korea's business sentiment worsens for 2nd month in July

SEOUL, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Sentiment among South Korean businesses over economic conditions worsened for the second successive month due to external uncertainty, caused by the U.S. tariffs imposition, central bank data showed Thursday.

The composite business sentiment index (CBSI) in all industries slumped 0.2 points from a month earlier to 90.0 in July, after going down 0.5 points in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The consecutive slide was attributed to external uncertainty coming from the U.S. protectionist moves.

The CBSI among manufacturers declined 2.5 points to 91.9 in July compared to the previous month, but the index for non-manufacturers gained 1.3 points to 88.7.

The CBSI continued to stay below the long-term average of 100 amid the lingering economic uncertainties.

The result was based on a survey of 1,834 manufacturers and 1,459 non-manufacturers conducted between July 9 and 16.

Manufacturers selected faltering domestic demand, economic uncertainty and export slump as key barriers to doing business, while non-manufacturers picked weaker consumer demand, uncertain economic situation and higher labor cost.

The economic sentiment index (ESI), which reflects sentiment among both businesses and consumers, stood at 92.9 in July, up 0.1 point from a month earlier. Enditem