Consumer sentiment dipped for the second month in a row in August as tough social distancing rules dampened activity. 

However, the rate of fall decreased from July when the country entered the fourth wave of the pandemic with the number of daily COVID-19 cases exceeding one-thousand. 

According to the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Tuesday, the composite consumer sentiment index was 102-point-five in August, down point-seven points from the previous month. 

A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.

A BOK official said daily infections surpassed two-thousand on occasion in August, but consumers are adapting, citing the scant fall in travel during the summer vacation season. 

In July, consumer sentiment fell seven-point-one points from a month earlier.

Expected inflation over the next 12 months was two-point-four percent, up point-one percentage point on-month and the highest figure since December 2018.