Korean Consumers Slide Into Gloomiest Mood Since January 2017

South Koreans are at their gloomiest in more than two and a half years as trade battles and an export slump cast clouds over the economic outlook.

The Bank of Korea’s monthly consumer sentiment index dropped to 92.5 in August from 95.9 the previous month, according to a statement Tuesday from the Bank of Korea. That puts the gauge at the lowest since January 2017, a month after the impeachment of then-President Park Geun-Hye.