South Korea's business sentiment remained unchanged for October amid sluggish exports of the country's key products, a central bank poll showed Wednesday.

Local companies' business sentiment index amounted to 73 for the coming month, unchanged from the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea.

The index measures corporate prospects for business conditions the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.

The central bank said business sentiment remained below par for next month due to slumping overseas shipments of chips, cars, communication equipment and other key export items.

The BSI for manufacturers came to 67 for October, down 2 points from the previous month. The index for nonmanufacturing firms was up 1 point over the same period to 77.

The actual BSI for September came to 73, up 2 points from August, rising for the first time in three months.

South Korea has been gripped by weak exports and sluggish private consumption, with its overseas shipments falling 8.4 percent on-year in August, the 11th consecutive month of decline.

The survey was conducted on 3,255 firms, including 1,607 manufacturers, from Sept. 12 to 19. (Yonhap)