Business sentiment among Korean builders made modest gains in February after plunging to a 17-month low the previous month, a report showed Thursday.

The monthly construction business sentiment index gained 4.4 points from a month before to reach 66.7, according to the report by the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea.

An index reading below 100 indicates pessimists outnumber optimists.

“The figure represents an improvement compared to January’s tally, but still highlights the serious challenges facing the country’s construction industry as a whole,” the CERIK said.

It said the low numbers reflected the difficult business environment facing domestic builders, which have been hurt by the sluggish real estate market.

The latest report showed smaller-sized builders were feeling the pinch more from the general sluggishness in the construction market.

The CBSI for small-time builders stood at 45.6, up 8.8 points from the month before, while numbers for large companies stood at 92.9, a gain of 16.0 points.

Index numbers for mid-sized construction firms fell 11.3 points to 58.3 points.

For March, the research institute predicted the overall CBSI would reach 73.7 points, a gain of 7.0 from the second month of 2012. 

(Yonhap News)