Consumer sentiment slightly improved in September despite a surge in COVID-19 cases.

According to the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Tuesday, the composite consumer sentiment index was 103-point-eight in September, up one-point-three points from the previous month. 

A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists, and this month's marked growth after dropping for two straight months.

A BOK official said that as daily coronavirus cases remained above one-thousand for over two months, the correlation between the tallies and consumer sentiment appears to be decreasing.

The index gauging people's outlook on the key interest rate jumped eight points on-month to 134 in September, the largest rise since January 2018.