Bulgarian consumer confidence improves – poll
Bulgaria’s consumer confidence indicator was 1.5 percentage points higher in January 2016 than in October 2015, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said on February 5, reporting the results of a poll held every three months.
The increase in consumer confidence was higher among the urban population than among the rural population, 1.8 percentage points against 0.6 percentage points, the NSI said.
The poll found that Bulgarian consumers’ expectations, about the financial situation of their households were more favourable, while their overall views about the development of the economic situation in the country over the past 12 months was less negative compared to the October 2015 survey.
However, a degree of pessimism in expectations for the coming 12 months endured, the NSI said.
In the opinion of consumers, the past 12 months had seen an increase in consumer prices but at a lower rate in comparison with the opinions recorded in October.
Concerns about inflation in the coming 12 months had eased as had concerns about unemployment.
At the same time, the NSI survey found that most consumers saw the current economic situation in Bulgaria as unfavourable for savings.
Consumers in Bulgaria had negative views about expectations that in the next 12 months, they would be able to make major purchases of durable goods, buying a car, buying or building a home, the NSI said.
The October 2015 survey, released on November 6, had found Bulgarian consumer confidence largely unchanged compared with July 2015.
This had meant an effective increase in consumer confidence in the 12 months to October, though with just one notable increase since October 2014 among the surveys done by the NSI.
In July 2015 the total consumer confidence indicator had remained at about its April level. In April, consumers were slightly more positive than they had been in January, the month that showed a 4.8 percentage point increase in Bulgaria consumer confidence compared with October 2014.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
