SEOUL: South Korean manufacturers' assessment of business conditions for April slipped after strengthening in the previous month, central bank data showed on Monday, highlighting uneven sentiment among businesses in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
The Bank of Korea's manufacturing business survey index for April fell to a seasonally adjusted 76 from 79 for this month but was still higher than the reading for February.
The index has remained below the neutral point of 100 since reaching 101 in January 2011, which indicates companies that expect business conditions to deteriorate outnumber those which see improvement.
Poor domestic demand and an uncertain business outlook continued to sit at the top of the list of manufacturers' concerns, the survey showed.
The data come a day before South Korea releases February industrial output figures, which analysts have tipped to gain 0.4 percent on monthly terms after falling 3.7 percent in January.
Noting economic weakness early in the year, particularly in manufacturing, the Bank of Korea lowered interest rates to a record-low 1.75 percent on March 9 to battle flagging growth.
The central bank said it took responses from more than 1,400 manufacturers in 23 major sectors nationwide between March 16 to 23.
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