BOK Consumer Trend Survey Results in March… “Consumption sentiment has grown”
Consumer sentiment has recovered to the level before the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19).
This is the result of improved consumer sentiment for the third consecutive month as vaccination began and the export situation improved.
According to the results of the March Consumer Trends Survey (March 9-16) by the Bank of Korea on the 26th, the Consumer Sentiment Index (CCSI) for March was 100.5, up 3.1 points from a month ago.
As the index rose for three consecutive months, it exceeded 100 for the first time since January last year (104.8) when Corona 19 began to spread.
The CCSI is calculated using six indices, including the current lifestyle, lifestyle forecast, household income forecast, consumption expenditure forecast, current economic judgment, and future economic outlook among the 15 indexes that make up the Consumer Trends Index (CSI).
If it is lower than 100, it means that consumer sentiment is pessimistic compared to the long-term average (2003-2020).
A BOK official said, “Of the six indices used to calculate the CCSI, the remaining five indices after subtracting the household income forecast index were close to the overall long-term average line.”
He also said, “If the social distancing stage eases, the sentiment to consume more immediately has increased,” he predicted, and the CCSI will continue to rise.
By CCSI composition index, the current life style letter index (89) and the life style forecast index (95) rose 2 points and 1 point, respectively, from a month ago.
The consumption expenditure outlook index (107) rose 3 points.
It is close to last year’s January (110).
The current economic judgment index (72) and the future economic outlook index (93) rose 9 points and 3 points, respectively.
However, the household income forecast index (96) was the same as the previous month.
Among the indices that are not included in the CCSI, the housing price forecast index (124) fell 5 points in a month.
It continued to record the highest level until the end of last year, but it has been down for three consecutive months since January of this year.
A BOK official said, “With the announcement of a plan to promote new public housing, one of the plans announced by the government to expand housing supply in metropolitan areas, expectations for a rise in house prices have weakened.”
The inflation level outlook index (146) and the current household debt index (104) rose by 2 points, and the current household savings index (93) and the household savings outlook index (95) rose by 1 point.
The wage level forecast index (112) and the household debt forecast index (99) remained at the level of January.
The interest rate level outlook index (114) rose 10 points in a month.
It was the largest since December 2016 (+12 points) when looking only at the extent of the increase.
The employment period rotation net index (84) rose 4 points.
The inflation rate, which evaluated the consumer inflation rate a year ago and the consumer inflation rate after a year, was 2.1%, both of which rose 0.1 percentage point.
/yunhap news