A majority of large South Korean firms expect their business conditions to further deteriorate next month due to weak demands at home and abroad, a survey showed Thursday.

The business survey index came to 89.5 for August, down from 90.5 for this month, according to the Federation of Korean Industries.

The monthly index is based on a survey of top 600 companies here in terms of sales. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists while a reading above the benchmark means the opposite.

The index for August marked the third consecutive month of drop after the index came to 102.3 for May, breaching the 100 mark for the first time in eight months.

"We are continuing to see a negative outlook despite the lack of clear negative factors as business sentiment and performance remain not fully recovered," the FKI said in a press release.

South Korea's exports have dipped every single month since the start of 2015, while domestic spending, another major pillar of growth here, has been growing at a record low pace.

Those surveyed failed to see an improvement in the near future.

An index measuring the companies' sentiment toward exports came to 94.8 for August, with a separate index on domestic sales also falling far short of the benchmark at 93.4.

Meanwhile, the FKI said the index on the actual performance of the local firms in July came to 89.7, slightly below their earlier expectation of 90.5 for the month. (Yonhap)