South Korean consumer sentiment inched down in February from the previous month as economic uncertainty lingers despite improvement in economic activity, the central bank said Wednesday.

The consumer sentiment index came in at 108 for February, down from a 35-month high of 109 recorded for January, according to the Bank of Korea. The index is a gauge of consumers' overall economic outlook, living conditions and future spending.

A reading above 100 means that optimists outnumber pessimists. The survey, based on a poll of 2,031 households nationwide, was conducted from Feb. 12-19.

Asia's fourth-largest economy is widely seen as being on the recovery track, although the fourth-quarter growth slowed from three months earlier.

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.

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

The sub-index, which measures economic outlook, came in at 99 for February, unchanged from the previous month. The index, gauging the current economic assessment, reached 85 for this month, up from 84 in January, the BOK added. (Yonhap)