The Construction Business Sentiment Index (CBSI), which reflects the sentiment of construction companies, has declined for two consecutive months.
According to the Korea Construction Industry Research Institute (KICRI) on the 11th, last month's CBSI dropped 3.0 points from the previous month to 67.4.
The CBSI quantifies the economic sentiment felt by construction companies. A value below 100 indicates that more companies view the current economic situation pessimistically, while a value above 100 indicates a more optimistic outlook.
The CBSI fell for two consecutive months, following a 1.2-point decline in January. By sector, the Construction Progress Index (72.4) dropped the most, falling 9.7 points. The Backlog of Orders Index (67.9) decreased by 8.9 points, the Construction Payment Collection Index (78.7) by 6.7 points, and the New Orders Index (60.8) by 1.8 points.
The Financing Index (71.6) and Material Supply Index (91.8) rose by 4.0 points and 7.5 points respectively compared to the previous month.
The Civil Engineering Index (63.9) fell by 1.2 points, and the Non-Residential Building Index (59.9) decreased by 0.7 points. However, the Housing Index (61.6) rose by 1.8 points.
By company size, the Large Enterprises Index dropped 12.9 points to 80.0. The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Index (54.5) also declined by 0.7 points. However, the Mid-sized Enterprises Index rose by 4.4 points to 67.7.
Regionally, Seoul (73.8) fell by 12.9 points, while other regions (63.6) increased by 4.7 points.
The March Outlook Index was 69.7, 2.3 points higher than last month's actual index (67.4). Ji-hye Lee, a research fellow at KICRI, explained, "The comprehensive outlook index remains below 100, indicating a continued high proportion of negative forecasts for the construction economy."
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