The country’s consumer sentiment hit the highest in 13 months in June.

According to the Bank of Korea on Wednesday, the composite consumer sentiment index climbed two-point-seven percentage points on-month to stand at 100-point-seven in June, surpassing the 100-point threshold for the first time in 13 months to indicate that optimists outnumber pessimists.

A BOK official said that the index gained for the fourth consecutive month and rose above 100 for the first time since May of last year, attributing the rise to hopes of an eased economic slowdown, the recovery in private spending in the post-pandemic era and relenting inflation.

Consumers’ expected inflation for the year ahead stayed flat from the previous month at three-point-five percent.

Their perceived inflation for the past year dropped by zero-point-one percentage point on-month in June.