BSP: Consumers stay optimistic in last quarter
Consumer outlook was broadly steady for the last quarter of 2017, with the overall confidence index (CI) decreasing slightly to 9.5 percent from 10.2 percent for the third quarter.
Respondents of the Bangko Sentral’s Consumer Expectations survey cited additional family income and higher salary, and availability of more jobs leading to an increase in the number of employed family members as reasons for their continued optimism. However, their slightly less favorable outlook, which counterbalanced their positive views, was due to concerns on higher prices of goods and household expenditures, peace and order prob- lems, particularly, extra-judicial killings, drug issues and crisis in Marawi, occurrence of calamities such as typhoon, and poor health and high medical expenses.
For the next quarter, the CI showed a fractional decline to 17.5 percent from 17.8 percent in the previous quarter’s survey. Meanwhile, consumer outlook for the year ahead was less upbeat, as the CI declined slightly to 32 percent from 33.7 percent a quarter ago.
Consumer confidence is measured across three component indicators, namely, the country’s economic condition, family financial situation, and family income. For the last quarter of 2017, consumer sentiment on the three indi- cators was mixed, as optimism was lower on the country’s economic condition, steady on the family’s financial situation and higher on family income.
A record-high CI was posted on the outlook on family income, at 10.3 percent from nine percent in the previous quarter. For the next quarter, consumers’ views on family finances and income turned more buoyant but that on the country’s economic condition weakened. The same broad trends were observed for the year ahead.
Consumer outlook was also mixed across income groups for the current and next quarters and the year ahead. For the current quarter, the low-income group turned less pessimistic due to the availability of more jobs and good harvest. Meanwhile, the middle- and high-income groups both registered a positive but weaker outlook as they anticipated lower salary and higher household expenditures. For the next quarter and the year ahead, the sentiment was less favorable for the low-income group, steady for middle-income and more upbeat for high-income. /