Singapore consumer confidence inches up

Singapore

SINGAPORE consumers have become slightly more confident in April, according to the ANZ-Roy Morgan Singapore Consumer Confidence survey.

The monthly survey index was at 125.7 points in April, up 1.2 points from March. The survey began in January 2014. The average since then is 121.7.

Glenn Maguire, ANZ's chief economist for South Asia, Asean and the Pacific, said consumer confidence rose "despite what we considered to be the considerable uncertainty over the impact on the Singaporean psyche" from the death of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Consumer confidence had been recovering, he noted.

"As the global economy continues to recover over 2015-16, consumer confidence on the Singapore outlook should continue to rise," he said.

In the survey, some 29 per cent of the 1,000 respondents said their families are better off financially than a year ago, while 8 per cent said they are worse off.

A third of respondents said they expect their family to be better off financially in a year's time, while 6 per cent expect to be worse off financially.

Going forward, 49 per cent expected Singapore to have "good times" financially over the next 12 months. Just 9 per cent expected "bad times" financially.

Over the longer-term, 48 per cent of respondents expected Singapore to have "good times" financially during the next five years and 8 per cent expected "bad times" financially.

Finally, 18 per cent of respondents said it is now a good time to buy major household items while the same proportion said it is a bad time to buy.