South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment rose for July mainly due to growing demand for semiconductors and electronic parts, central bank data showed Friday.

The business sentiment index (BSI) for local manufacturers came to 99 for July, up from 97 for June, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The index measures manufacturers' outlook on business conditions in the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.

A modest recovery in exports and investment has helped put South Korea's economy on a growth track.

South Korea's exports jumped 45.6 percent on-year in May to extend their gains to the seventh consecutive month due to strong demand for chips amid the global economic recovery.

Outbound shipments came to $50.7 billion last month, compared with $34.8 billion a year earlier, according to government data.

The BSI for conglomerates came to 106 for July, down from 110 for June, while that of smaller companies reached 91, up from 81.

Meanwhile, the BSI of non-manufacturing businesses came to 82 for July, up from 81 for this month, the BOK said.

A separate poll showed the country's business confidence inching down for the coming month because of a disruption in the supply of raw materials and parts.

The Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement that its business survey index of the country's top 600 companies by sales came to 102.3 for July, down 0.3 point from June.

A reading above 100 means companies expecting improvements in business conditions outnumber those who are pessimistic.

The index for the manufacturing sector fell by 4.2 points to 100.9, marking the fourth consecutive month of decline. In contrast, that for the non-manufacturing industry stood at 104.4 for next month, up 5 points from the prior month.

KERI, the research arm of the country's top business lobby, the Federation of Korean Industries, said the performance index for June amounted to 106.2, down 0.2 point from a month earlier. (Yonhap)