“Consumers are more upbeat on the economic outlook and are also more positive on the job market outlook as well as their family incomes,” DRI says in a press statement received on Monday, referring to its latest survey.

“Consumer concerns on rising foodstuff prices eased in the November survey. On a less positive note, however, more consumers are worried by job scarcity at the present time.”

The DRI says that with consumers being more upbeat on the national economic outlook, buying intentions for durable goods increased in November.

The survey shows 45.42 percent of consumers planned to purchase a durable good over the next six months, up from 44.37 percent in the previous month.

Consumers expected inflationary pressures to increase slightly over the next six months, according to the survey, adding that the index measuring consumer sentiment toward general prices increased 0.2 percent from 178.2 to 178.5 in November.

“The increase in this index reflects expectations that prices, especially of foodstuffs and transportation, will increase toward the end of the year due to the celebration of Christmas and New Year. Nevertheless, this index is still lower than it was one year ago when the index stood at 183.2 in November 2017,” it says.

After increasing 4.2 percent in the previous survey, the consumer confidence in the government index (CCGI) slipped 0.7 percent to 110.4. (bbn)

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