Snippets from the South Korean m'fing...>

SOUTH KOREA: Snippets from the South Korean m'fing PMI print:

- South Korea's manufacturing economy remained under pressure at the end of the

third quarter, reflecting challenging conditions both at home and externally.

Notably, the stabilisation in export demand did not coincide with any

improvement in the total new orders index, which fell further, indicating that

external weakness has started to spill over into domestic markets.

- Forward-looking indicators such as employment and business confidence, the

only measure of sentiment within the PMI survey, both showed little hope for a

recovery to ensue any time soon. Jobs were cut at the fastest rate in nearly

one-and-a-half years, while expectations of a slowing Korean economy held the

outlook down at a subdued level.

- Overall, latest survey data suggest that if spillover effects from the global

growth slowdown are manifesting themselves in the domestic economy, the Bank of

Korea may soon have to follow the current global trend of looser monetary

policy.