South Korea saw a decrease in letter of credit (L/C) arrivals during May according to in the latest set of data on the country released by the Conference Board.

The New York-based global business analysts nevertheless point out that the decline in L/C arrivals and other negative indicators in the South Korean economy are more than offset by improvements in other aspects of the economy.

Improvements

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for Korea increased by 0.9 per cent in May.

This reflected substantial gains in total employment and industrial production, as well as a strong order book for machinery and a buoyant private construction sector.

Offset

The Conference Board says these gains more than offset what it describes as small declines in the other economic components.

As well as a decrease in L/C arrivals, these included other slight declines in stock prices, the ratio of inventories to shipments and bond yields.

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