S. Korea's consumer sentiment rebounds in December

SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's consumer sentiment rebounded in five months on rising expectations for the end of the tightened monetary policy in the United States, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI), which gauges the sentiment of consumers over economic situation, rose 2.3 points over the month to 99.5 in December, marking the first turnaround since July, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The rebound was attributed to the expected end of the U.S. restrictive monetary policy as well as the slower inflation in South Korea.

Consumer prices went up 3.3 percent in November from a year earlier, lower than an increase of 3.8 percent in the previous month.

The headline inflation topped the BOK's mid-term inflation target of 2 percent for 32 months in a row.

The central bank had left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.50 percent since January, after hiking it by 3.0 percentage points for the past one and a half years.

Inflation expectations, which measure the outlook among consumers over headline inflation for the next 12 months, stood at 3.2 percent in December, down 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous month.

It marked the lowest in 20 months since April last year.

After peaking at 4.0 percent in February, the inflation expectations had roughly been on the decline this year.

The results were based on a survey of 2,329 households conducted from Dec. 11 to 18.