South Korea's consumer sentiment dropped for the third consecutive month in July.
 
The Bank of Korea(BOK) said on Friday that the composite consumer sentiment index(CCSI) came to 95-point-nine for the month, down one-point-six from the previous month. 

The index fell for the third straight month after rising for five consecutive months from December last year. 

A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. 

A BOK official attributed the drop to growing concerns over Japanese export curbs and protracted trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

The official also cited slow exports and falling share prices as contributing factors to the CCSI slide.

Meanwhile, an index measuring sentiment regarding housing prices for the next year soared nine points on-month to reach 106 in July, the highest since October last year.