Consumer confidence in India falls in Q1 of 2018, remains below pre-demonetisation levels
Economy

Consumer confidence in India falls in Q1 of 2018, remains below pre-demonetisation levels

Consumer confidence index had seen the steepest fall post demonetisation and hasn’t come back to November 2016 level even in 2018.

   
People queuing outside bank after demonetization

File picture of customers outside a Punjab National Bank in Delhi | Photo by Ravi Choudhary | Getty Images

Consumer confidence index had seen the steepest fall post demonetisation and hasn’t come back to November 2016 level even in 2018.

New Delhi: Consumer confidence fell in the first quarter of 2018 after rising in the previous quarter, a survey conducted by the RBI said Thursday.

The Current Situation Index (CSI), which is compiled on the basis of net responses on the economic situation, income, spending, employment and the price level for the current period, fell from 96.9 in December 2017 to 95.1 in March 2018.

The CSI had begun dipping after demonetisation in November 2016. The CSI for September 2016 was at 104.2 and increased to 108.7 in November 2016. It then dipped to 102 in December 2016 and fell below 100 in March 2017 to touch 98.7 and enter the “pessimistic zone”.

Any score below 100 on the CSI is treated as being in the zone of pessimism.

The survey was conducted across six metropolitan cities i.e. Delhi , Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore and had received 5,297 responses.

The general perception about the economy, income, spending and employment deteriorated in the first quarter of 2018.

Key takeaways from the Q1 Consumer Confidence Survey