Global consumer confidence plunges, but Indians still most optimistic
Global consumer confidence dipped at the end of last year, a survey showed on Monday, and more than 60 percent of respondents said the next 12 months would not be a good time to spend.
Concerns about U.S. budget talks, which have since eased, and worries about the euro zone crisis weighed on consumer sentiment in the final quarter of 2012, according to the survey by global information and insights company Nielsen.
Sixty three percent of respondents said it was not a good time to buy discretionary or non-discretionary things over the next 12 months, with spending restraint most notable among Europeans.
Consumers in the Asia Pacific were most upbeat but even there 59 percent said the next 12 months would not be a good time to spend, the survey showed.
India remained the most optimistic consumer market globally for a second straight quarter, followed by the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.
The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index dipped 1 point in the fourth quarter to 91, after rising 1 point in the third quarter, and was 2 points higher than a year earlier.
A reading below 100 signals consumers are pessimistic about the outlook. Only 10 of the 58 markets surveyed reported a reading above 100. Confidence was worst in euro zone countries grappling with debt problems, notably Greece, where consumer sentiment fell sharply
