South Korean small firms predict their business conditions will remain weak in August.

According to a poll of three-thousand-150 small and mid-sized firms by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, the small business health index (SBHI) for next month reached 79, down three points from the previous month.

A reading below 100 indicates that more respondents had negative outlooks than positive expectations about their business conditions.

The federation said that the August figure is the lowest since February when it posted a record low 76-point-three.

It added that the index for the manufacturing industry for August came to 77-point-two, the lowest since February 2013 and the figure for non-manufacturing reached 79-point-nine, the lowest since August 2015.