South Korean consumer sentiment rose to its highest in nearly three years in January as the local economy showed signs of improvement, the central bank said Monday.

The consumer sentiment index came in at 109 for January, up from 107 recorded for December last year, according to the Bank of Korea. The index is a gauge of consumers' overall economic outlook, living conditions and future spending.

The index marked its highest level since it hit 109 in February 2011.

A reading above 100 means that optimists outnumber pessimists. The survey, based on a poll of 1,050 households nationwide, was conducted from Jan. 13-20.

The Korean economy grew 0.9 percent on-quarter in the fourth quarter, slowing from a 1.1 percent on-quarter gain in the third quarter, according to the BOK.

Despite the slowed quarterly growth, Asia's fourth-largest economy is deemed as being on the recovery track, it added.

The BOK earlier said that the Korean economy is likely to grow 3.8 percent in 2014 after increasing 2.8 percent last year.

The sub-index, which measures economic outlook, came in at 99 for January, up from 96 recorded in December. The index gauging the current economic assessment reached 84 for this month, unchanged from the previous month, the BOK said. (Yonhap News)