In December, the last month of 2022the Consumer Confidence Index recovered and stood at -22.3%.
According to the Fedesarrollo report, thehe improvement represents an increase of 2.5 percentage points (pps) although it remained at negative levels. In the previous month, November, the figure was -24.8%.
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Anyway, the general result is far from the one it showed in December 2021 when it registered -7.0%.
The executive director of Fedesarrollo, Luis Fernando Mejía, commented that “thehe improvement in consumer confidence compared to last month was due to an increase of 3.3 pps in the Consumer Expectations Index (IEC) and 1.2 pps in the Economic Conditions Index” (ICC).
ANDhe first indicator went from -14.5% in November to -11.2% in the last month of 2022. Although it is favorable, with 5.5%the perception that “within a year your household will be doing better financially”, the same does not occur when asking if “in the next 12 months we are going to have good economic times (-28.2%) and if within After 12 months, the country’s economic conditions in general will be better (-10.8%).
For its part, the Economic Conditions Index, which in November was -40.2%, in December was -39.0%, Fedesarrollo explained.
The study center report explains that when comparing the results of the fourth quarter of 2022 with those of the third quarter, it is observed that the evaluation of consumers regarding the situation of their homes fell 12.7 pps and the assessment of the situation in his country decreased 14.3 pps.
On the other hand, the willingness of consumers to buy durable goods stood at -51.2% so far this quarter, a result that translates into a fall of 7.2 pps relative to the balance registered in the third quarter of the same year. .
(Read: Reasons that helped to recover economic confidence at the end of 2022).
When analyzing the performance of consumers in the main cities of the country, it was concluded that there were increases in Medellín (5.3 pps), in Cali (7.6 pps), in Barranquilla (13.7 pps), and in Bucaramanga (18.6 pps).
In the case of Bogota, Fedesarrollo reports a drop of 1.8 pps, going from -25.3 in November to -27.1 in December 2022. In the same month of 2021 it was at -10.4.
Regarding the behavior of the Consumer Confidence Index by economic strata, growth is seen in the high and low. In the first it went from -58.2 in the penultimate month of 2022 and in the next it was -31.1.
In December of the previous year it was 9.3, positive.
On the other hand, at the low level, andn December it reached -16.7%, when the previous month it had been at -19.1. For December of the previous year, the Consumer Confidence Indicator for this group of consumers was -8.1.
(Keep reading: Hiring intent falls for Q1 2023.)
In the case of the middle class, there is a reduction, going from -16.7 to -27.1 between one month and the next, according to the study center report.
On the other hand, and compared to the previous month, the willingness to buy durable goods grew and the desire to buy a house decreased.
Fedesarrollo indicated that the balance of responses on whether it is a good or bad time to buy goods such as furniture and household appliances stood at -51.6% in December, with an increase of 1.3 pps compared to November 2022. Relative to the month In the past, the desire to buy durable goods presented a variation of -2.9 pps in Bogotá, -2.1 in Barranquilla, 1.4 pps in Cali, 10.9 pps in Bucaramanga and 15.6 pps in Medellín.
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For its part, in December the indicator of willingness to buy a home was -48.1%, which is equivalent to a reduction of 5.4 pps compared to the previous month (-42.7%).
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