Covid-19 pandemic eats into consumer confidence, shows RBI survey

Consumers reported sharp cuts in discretionary spending and also do not expect much improvement in the coming year, the RBI survey said

Consumer confidence collapsed in May, and the expectation for the next one year is that Indian households will remain pessimistic, the survey by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows.

“Consumer perception on the general economic situation, employment scenario and household income plunged deeper into contraction zone …; while expectation on general economic situation and employment scenario for the year ahead were also pessimistic,” the RBI Consumer Confidence Survey, released on the central bank’s website, showed. The RBI has not yet released the Industrial Outlook Survey, which had showed “stark pessimism” among manufacturing companies, which were expecting a deterioration in