South Korea's state think tank has assessed the trend of the economic slowdown as appearing to continue with sluggish domestic consumption and an export growth that is slowing.

The Korea Development Institute (KDI) said on Sunday in its monthly economic assessment report for January that the economy slowed down for the third straight month since November.

The KDI had assessed in August last year that the economy was improving, but dropped the expression "improvement" since last September and officially said in November the economy "slowed" a bit.

The state think tank said in its latest economic report that private consumption remains sluggish, with a drop in retail sales growth and a sharper decrease in investment.

It said that retail sales increased by one percent on-year in November, but the gain was much smaller than the average on-year growth of two-point-eight percent in the previous two months.

The institute said that investments in both facility and construction sharply decreased in November, with related leading indicators showing continued negative trends ahead.

KDI added that exports of the nation's main items such as chips and petrochemical products decreased last month, and that the uncertainties of the global economy are increasing.