Consumer confidence rises as inflation expectations ease, led by female respondents: RBI survey

Consumer confidence for the current period improved again after the uptrend since mid-2021 was interrupted in the previous two survey rounds, according to Reserve Bank of India’s September 2024 round of its bi-monthly consumer confidence survey.

Sentiments on all major economic parameters inched up as per the survey.

“Current Situation Index (CSI) improved by 0.8 points to 94.7 though it remained below the threshold level of 100. Households expressed higher confidence for the year ahead in all survey parameters. The future expectations index (FEI) improved by 0.7 points to 121.4 in the latest survey,” the findings of the survey revealed.

Households’ median perception of current inflation declined by 10 basis points (bps) to 8.1 per cent, when compared to July 2024 round of the survey; their inflation expectations for three months and one-year ahead periods moderated by 20 and 10 bps, respectively.

For both short-term and one-year ahead periods, the shares of respondents anticipating a rise in both general prices and inflation have reduced vis-à-vis the previous survey round.

Price and inflationary pressures eased across all the product groups. Female respondents had marginally lower inflation assessment and expectations when compared to their male counterparts.