Business sentiment worsened for the third consecutive month in March due to the soaring prices of raw materials.

According to the Bank of Korea on Thursday, the business survey index(BSI) for all industries stood at 83 for March, down two from the previous month.

A reading below 100 indicates that pessimists outnumber optimists.

The index dropped for three straight months after rising to 87 in December.

The central bank attributed the worsened BSI to the continued spread of the omicron variant as well as rising prices of raw materials and logistics costs resulting from disruptions caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine.

In particular, the BSI for manufacturers plunged seven points on-month to 84 in March, the lowest since February of last year.

The BSI for non-manufacturers, which includes restaurants, wholesalers and retail businesses, remained unchanged at 81.

Meanwhile, local firms' business outlook for April slipped five points on-month to 83.