SEOULfreepokernearme, Augfreepokernearme. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's consumer sentiment worsened in three months due to rising worry about the U.S. economic slump, central bank data showed Tuesday.

The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI), which gauges the sentiment of consumers over economic situation, declined 2.8 points over the month to 100.8 in August after gaining for the past two months, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The downturn was attributable to growing concerns about the U.S. economic slowdown that led to the global stock market rout earlier this month.

Expectations ran high for the U.S. central bank to cut its benchmark interest rate in September.

The BOK had left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.50 percent since January 2023.

Inflation expectations, which measure the outlook among consumers over headline inflation for the next 12 months, stood unchanged at 2.9 percent in August compared to the previous month.

After peaking at 4.7 percent in July 2022, the inflation expectations had roughly been on the decline.

The results were based on a survey of 2,280 households conducted from Aug. 6 to Aug. 13.■