S. Korea's consumer sentiment improves in May

SEOUL, May 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's consumer sentiment improved this month due to surging semiconductor exports and a booming stock market, central bank data showed Friday.

The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI), which gauges the sentiment of consumers over economic situation, advanced 6.9 points from a month earlier to 106.1 in May, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It marked the first rebound in three months, rising above 100 to indicate that optimists outnumbered pessimists.

The turnaround was attributed to soaring demand for locally made chips used for artificial intelligence infrastructure and the retail investors-driven stock market rally.

The sub-index for the current economic situation gained 15 points to 83 in May, compared to the previous month, while the index for economic outlook mounted 14 points to 93.

Inflation expectations, which measure the outlook among consumers over headline inflation for the next 12 months, fell 0.1 percentage point to 2.8 percent in May on a monthly basis.

The result was based on a survey of 2,253 households conducted from May 8 to 15. Enditem