Consumer confidence improved in Q1

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

Consumer sentiment in the first quarter of 2015 improved to its best level in over a year, as fewer households tightened their belts, a new central bank survey showed.

Results of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) showed pessimism was at its lowest point since the third quarter of 2013. More families expected consumer goods to stay cheap, more jobs to be available, and their own savings to improve, all while enjoying continued government support.

Confidence was still in negative territory at -10 percent, but it improved significantly from the -21.8 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of last year. The final confidence score is the difference between pessimists and optimists, which means more people were pessimistic than those that had high hopes.

“The improvement in consumer outlook was broad-based and evident across income groups with the middle-income group showing the biggest improvement in sentiment, followed by the low-income group,” the BSP said in a report released over the weekend.

Index scores for consumers have never entered the positive territory in the survey’s history.

According to respondents, their improved outlook during the current quarter was due to expectations of lower oil prices and stable prices of commodities, higher family income leading to more savings, availability of more jobs and increase in the number of employed family members, the appreciation of the peso, and improvement or development of public infrastructure.

Respondents also cited less calamities, less corruption in the government and more assistance from the government such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), as factors for their improved outlook, the BSP said.

This quarter’s CES survey covered 5,818 families drawn from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Master Sample List of Households. It is considered a representative sample of households nationwide.

There are three indicators in measuring consumer confidence: The country’s economic condition, family financial situation, and family income.

Consumer confidence on the country’s economic condition and family financial situation picked up for the current quarter.

Notably, economic condition registered the biggest improvement in index scores, followed by family finances. The outlook on family income in the current quarter was more sanguine, the BSP said.

“These indicate households’ growing confidence in the country’s economic condition and their own family finances,” it said.