South Korean manufacturers' business confidence continued to weaken with a majority of non-manufacturing firms also expecting worse conditions in the upcoming month, a poll showed Wednesday.

The business survey index for manufacturing companies here came to 68 for January, down 1 point from the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea.

A reading below the benchmark 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The monthly survey covers about 2,800 firms, including some 1,700 manufacturing companies, throughout the country.

The BSI of non-manufacturing firms also weakened, dipping 2 points from the previous month to 69 for January.

Local companies expect their sales and exports to continue moving south.

An index measuring the companies' outlook on their overall sales came to 79 for January, compared with 80 for December, while the index on exports also dipped 2 points to 79 over the cited period.

South Korea's exports have fallen every single month since the start of the year.

Out of those surveyed, 25 percent said the slump in the domestic market was the most serious issue facing them while 10.1 percent cited poor exports, compared with 9.1 percent in the previous month. (Yonhap)