The country’s consumer sentiment slightly worsened for the first time in six months.

According to the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Tuesday, the composite consumer sentiment index edged down zero-point-one point on-month to stand at 103-point-one in August, staying above the 100-point threshold for the third straight month to indicate that optimists outnumber pessimists.

A BOK official said that although the index remained above 100 for the third consecutive month, it decreased slightly for the first time in six months, with the consumer price perception staying high despite the recent slowdown in inflation as expectations for improvement in exports weakened.

Perceived inflation for the past year dropped by zero-point-one percentage point on-month to four-point-two percent in August.

Consumers’ expected inflation for the year ahead marked three-point-three percent in August, unchanged from the previous month.