Consumer confidence for year ahead improves further: RBI survey

Consumer confidence for the year ahead has improved further on the back of higher optimism, which resulted in the Future Expectations Index (FEI) rising by 2.1 points to 125.2, the highest level since mid-2019, according to a Reserve Bank of India survey conducted in March 2024.

Households’ sentiments on the general economic situation and employment prospects recorded notable improvements for both the current period as well as the upcoming year. Also in tandem, their outlook on discretionary spending improved.

The respondents to the Reserve Bank of India’s survey said their income situation was better compared to a year ago and expected a further rise in income in the year ahead.

The Reserve Bank released the results of the March 2024 round of its bi-monthly Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS) along with the monetary policy review on Friday.

The RBI in a statement said the survey collects current perceptions (vis-à-vis a year ago) and one-year-ahead expectations of households on general economic situation, employment scenario, overall price situation, own income and spending across 19 major cities. The latest round of the survey was conducted during March 2-11, 2024, covering 6,083 respondents. Female respondents accounted for 50.8 per cent of this sample.

Its Households’ Inflation Expectations Survey showed that the share of households expecting overall prices and inflation to increase over the next three months and one year moderated for general prices and most of the product groups when compared to the previous survey round.

The households’ expectations on general price for one-year horizon remained closely aligned with food prices and housing-related expenses.