February Construction Business Index Slightly Rises... Impact of Statistical Effects and Increase in New Orders

February Construction Business Survey Index (CBSI)

The construction industry in February showed a slight improvement compared to the previous month.

The Korea Construction Industry Research Institute announced on the 2nd that the Construction Business Survey Index (CBSI) for February rose by 12.3 points (p) from the previous month to 86.9.

If the CBSI falls below the baseline of 100, it means that more companies view the current construction market pessimistically than optimistically, and if it exceeds 100, the opposite is true.

The CBSI dropped to 74.6 in January, the lowest in 17 months, due to seasonal factors such as a decrease in construction volume and psychological contraction following the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, but it rose again in February, recovering to the 80 level.

Researcher Park Cheol-han said, "Along with a statistical rebound effect, the index appears to have recovered as new construction orders for residential and non-residential buildings increased compared to January."

However, Researcher Park added, "Since the index still remains below the baseline, it is difficult to say that the construction sentiment has greatly improved."

The forecast index for March is predicted to exceed the baseline at 112.5, up 25.6 points from February.

Regarding this, the institute explained that due to the recent uncertainty in the overall economy caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the actual market situation needs to be monitored.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.