Consumer confidence in the country continued to improve from the historic low recorded in July 2021 but the assessment for the current period remained in pessimistic terrain, says a survey by the Reserve Bank of India.
The current situation index (CSI) increased to 62.3 in November 2021 from 57.7 in the previous survey round in September, says the RBI’s consumer confidence survey. CSI was 48.6 in July this year. The latest rise is mainly due to the rise in consumer spending with the current spending index rising from 41.9 to 47.1. However, current perception on economic situation, employment, price level and income are still in the negative terrain.
Households were more confident for the year ahead, which was reflected in the continued upward trajectory of the future expectations index (FEI), buoyed by higher optimism for household income and employment scenario. The index for one year ahead expectations rose to 109.6 in November from 107 in September, the RBI said. The index for overall economic situation improved to 5.2 (one year ahead expectations) in November from 1.5 in September this year. The perception for general economic situation, employment scenario and household income displayed signs of recovery, it said. With higher expenditure on essential items, households perceived a rise in overall expenditure. Sentiments on non-essential expenditure, however, continue to be pessimistic and did not reflect improvement over the coming year. The survey was conducted through physical interviews, during October 25 to November 3, 2021 in 13 major cities.
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