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Consumers less pessimistic but not optimistic, index shows
The index improved to 95.5 points in September from 77.3 in August, suggesting a gradual recovery in line with the gradual reopening of the economy, but it remains in pessimistic territory.
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A shopping mall in Bogor, West Java, prepares to welcome back visitors following the easing of public activity restrictions in August. Only vaccinated visitors are allowed to enter malls, which can operate at a limited capacity. (Antara/Arif Firmansyah)
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onsumer confidence has shown some improvement in September after the government eased COVID-19 restrictions in large parts of the country, but it has not returned to optimistic territory.
The consumer confidence index improved to 95.5 in September from 77.3 in August, still below the 100-point threshold separating optimism and pessimism, Bank Indonesia (BI) data shows. The improvement occurred across all income, education and age groups.
“Bank Indonesia’s consumer survey in September indicated that confidence about economic conditions was strengthening, driven by the improvement in community mobility in line with the relaxation of mobility restriction during the survey period,” Muhamad Nur from BI’s communications department was quoted in a press release as saying on Friday.
“[The index] improved across all surveyed cities, with the highest in Pontianak [West Kalimantan], followed by Bandung [West Java] and Makassar [South Sulawesi].”
Consumer confidence had risen into optimistic territory in April, only to reverse in July when the country suffered a second COVID-19 wave that was driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus. In August, the index reached its lowest point since at least 2012.
Read also: Consumer confidence plunges to lowest level in 12 years
While the improvement occurred across all income groups, only consumers earning more than Rp 5 million (US$351.42) had returned to optimistic territory with a reading of 101.2. Consumers earning between Rp 1 million and Rp 2 million were the most pessimistic.
