South Korea's consumer sentiment increased for a fourth consecutive month in April, as exports showed signs of a strong recovery and health authorities vowed to speed up the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came in at 102.2 for April, up 1.7 points from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.

The latest reading marks the fourth on-month gain following a drop in December last year, when the nation was logging about 1,000 daily new infections. This week, South Korea has reported about 500 daily new infections, although health authorities have warned against complacency.

Health authorities warned of another wave of COVID-19 infections, saying they could impose tighter social distancing rules if infections spike.

Stricter anti-coronavirus measures had battered self-employed small merchants, as well as the manufacturing and service industries.

The subindex for people's assessment of current economic conditions rose to 77 in April, up from 72 in March, while the index gauging people's sentiment toward future economic conditions reached 94 this month, up from 93 in March. (Yonhap)