Consumer sentiment in the country slightly improved in January but failed to recover to the levels seen before the December 3 martial law decree. 

According to the Bank of Korea on Wednesday, the Composite Consumer Sentiment Index(CCSI) stood at 91-point-two in January, up three points from the previous month.
 
It marks the largest gain since May 2023, but it’s considered a small rebound from the 12-point-three point drop that occurred in December after the president issued the martial law decree.

A reading above 100 indicates that optimists outnumber pessimists. 

The subindex that measures consumers’ economic outlook, one of the six indices that make up the CCSI, jumped nine points from a month earlier to 65. 

Expected inflation for the year ahead posted two-point-eight percent in January, down one-tenth of a percent from a month ago.