Consumer confidence falls for two consecutive quarters

Date:2011-10-24wangxin  Text Size:

Consumer confidence in Shanghai continued to drop last quarter, with the index sliding to 104.3 points – the lowest in the past six months – roughly a point away from the record-low seen during the fallout of the financial crisis two years ago, according to the latest numbers released by the Shanghai Municipal Statistics Bureau.

The latest reading was 4.8 points lower than the same time last year, with the consumer expectations index also plunging – 13.6 points from the previous quarter to 101.6 points – suggesting that local residents hold a bleak outlook for the overall economic climate for the next six months, said the report released Friday.

According to the survey, the financial uncertainty has further prompted 45 percent of the city's consumers to avoid large-scale purchases for the time being, a sentiment that will likely stick for a while, said Lu Qianjin, a professor of international finance at Fudan University.

"Tightening on domestic monetary policies coupled by external factors, such as the European debt crisis, has been dragging on consumer confidence," he told the Global Times Sunday.

"Most consumers are still waiting for the right time to buy," he added. "They still think that it will take some time for prices to drop."

But, he said that a series of relaxed economic policies by the government, including measures to stimulate consumption, could help restore consumer confidence sooner rather than later.

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