KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday said that the results of the latest consumer confidence survey, conducted during September 5 to 9, 2017 show that, in general, consumers’ confidence in Pakistan’s economy has increased. The overall consumer confidence index increased by 5.07 per cent compared to the previous survey, held in July 2017.
The improvement in consumer confidence is reflected in the increase in current economic conditions index as well as expected economic conditions index. Moreover, the index, showing inflation expectations also increased by 2.6 per cent during this period.
It may be recalled that the SBP is regularly conducting consumer confidence surveys through telephonic calls to consumers that are selected randomly across the country. These surveys are conducted after every two months and provide information on “what people are thinking” about current and future economic conditions, future trends in inflation, interest rates, unemployment, and their household income. Such information is helpful in the monetary policy formulation.