Chennai: Indian consumers are shedding their pessimism and are expecting their incomes to rise, price situation to improve and more job creation in future, a survey by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said.
The optimism was reflected in the December 2018 round of the RBI’s Consumer Confidence Survey.
Consumer confidence turned around in the December 2018 round with the current situation index gaining 2.8 points, though still remaining in pessimistic territory, the RBI said.
The future expectations index recorded a sharp uptick, with increased optimism about the general economic situation and employment scenario.
According to the RBI, pessimism on the general economic situation in the last few rounds seems to have been arrested in the current round and the outlook for the year ahead was also more optimistic than before. Though most consumers expect improvement in the employment situation in future, they remain worried about the current employment situation.
Sharp improvement was seen in the price situation in the country for the current period as well as a year ahead, the report said.
While respondents mostly reported unchanged incomes in the year gone by, more than 60 per cent expect their incomes to rise in the year ahead. Sentiments on spending remained almost unchanged from the previous round, it added.
The survey was conducted in 13 major cities including Chennai and obtained 5,347 responses on households’ perceptions and expectations on the general economic situation, the employment scenario, the overall price situation and their own income and spending.