Mumbai: Consumer confidence in India, which has remained negative since July 2019, fell to a record low in May as perceptions about the economy and employment darkened, a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) survey showed.
The central bank said its consumer confidence index stood at 48.5 in May, down from 53.1 in March.
While the consumer perception of theeconomic situation fell to -75.0 for May from -63.9 in March, employment perception plunged to -74.9 from -62.4 in the same period.
One-year ahead expectations compared with the current situation dipped to 96.4 in May 2021 from 108.8 in March 2021.
“The future expectations index moved to the pessimistic territory for the second time since the onset of the pandemic; this was driven by sharp fall in expectations on the general economic situation, employment scenario and household income over one year horizon,” the survey showed.
Household spending also weakened, the survey found, with essential spending showing signs of moderation while non-essential spending continued to contract.
The survey was conducted through telephonic interviews from 29 April to 10 May in 13 cities. It recorded perceptions and expectations on the general economic situation, employment scenario, overall price situation and own incomes and spending from 5,258 households.
RBI on Friday announced measures to revive growth by keeping the repo rate unchanged to mitigate the growing uncertainty and inflation concerns. It also announced liquidity measures to ensure credit flow to MSMEs, hotels, tourism, aviation, etc., which have been adversely impacted by the second wave. “We expect the steps announced would increase consumption demand and aid incremental economic activity,” governor Shaktikanta Das said.
The number of active covid cases in India has dipped further. According to the Union health ministry, the daily positivity rate has now dropped to 6.21%.
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