Consumer confidence improves further in January; future expectations at 2-year high: RBI survey

NEW DELHI: Consumer confidence showed further improvement for both current period as well as for the year ahead, a survey by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Wednesday.
The central bank’s bi-monthly consumer confidence survey has 2 components — current situation index (CSI) which shows perception of current prices, jobs and overall economy and future expectations index (FEI) which gives an outlook for the next 1 year.
For the month of January 2023, the CSI continued on its recovery path for the 9th round of the survey since hitting its historic low in mid-2021 due to the Covid pandemic.
The CSI increased by 1.3 points on back of improved sentiments on general economic situation and household income, the survey said. However, despite improvement, the current index continues to remain in pessimistic zone.
Meanwhile, the FEI also rose by 1.3 points to its 2-year high on back of improved optimism on general economic situation, employment and income over the next 1 year.

It is to be noted that an index value below 100 represents pessimism, while above 100 signals optimism.
“Consumers’ sentiment on current expenses witnessed some moderation but their expectations on overall spending improved marginally for both essential and non-essential items,” the survey noted.
Earlier in the day, RBI slowed the pace of interest-rate increases for the second straight time and hiked borrowing costs by 25 basis points while keeping the door open for more hikes as core inflation remained high.
The RBI’s six-member Monetary Policy Committee voted 4-2 to raise the benchmark repurchase or repo rate to 6.50 per cent and retain its stance of withdrawing accommodation, which was adopted early last year.