China's consumer confidence index slid 0.4 points
quarter-on-quarter to 95.8 points in the first three months of the
year, according to data released Monday by the National Bureau of
Statistics.
But the bureau said the index increased by 1.8 points compared
with the same period of last year.
Consumer confidence, measured by the consumer confidence index,
is defined as the degree of optimism on the state of the economy
that consumers are expressing through their activities of savings
and spending.
Observers said with improved employment and increased income for
residentials, retail sales in the first quarter would likely grow
15 percent. Given the imperfect social security system and
difficulties in acquiring medical services, housing and education,
however, consumer confidence was not very strong, the observers
believed.
According to the statistical bureau, consumer satisfaction
index, which illustrates consumers' satisfaction about the state of
the economy, stood at 91.9 points in the first quarter, up 0.7
points year-on-year, while the consumer perspective index, which
reflects consumers' views about the development perspective of the
economy, reached 98.4 points, up 2.3 points.
In comparison, the entrepreneur confidence index, which measures
the understanding, views and projections of entrepreneurs, hit
142.0 points in the first quarter, surging past the 140-point
barrier for the first time.
(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2007)