Economy

Colombia’s consumer confidence rebounds in June: Study

by Wesley Tomaselli

Colombia’s consumer confidence rebounded in July to a record high over the past 16 months, according to a study published on Thursday by Bogota-based social economic policy think tank Fedesarrollo.

According to the most recent Consumer Opinion Survey issued by Fedsarrollo, “the indicator for consumer confidence (ICC)… advanced by 7.3% compared to May, and 6.8% with respect to the month of June.” That bumps up the indicator to 27.4% in June.

Consumer confidence in Colombia

Higher consumer confidence numbers reflect Colombian’s perception of improving economic conditions, macroeconomic analyst Luis Acevedo Told El Pais. Households, he says, are likely to buy more durable goods, like cars, homes and home appliances.

But he says that the central bank’s policy of keeping interest rates low has not only helped contribute greatly to the spike in consumption, it is likely to gain momentum during the second half of the year.

“This will give momentum to the economy and we see positive signs that say there is progress in the confidence of the middle and lower classes of the population,” said Acevedo.

In spite of lowered projections for the emerging Andean country’s 2013 growth, Colombia’s fiscal design has been praised by institutions like the World Bank for decreasing the public debt, keeping the deficit balanced, and harnessing inflation, which currently sits around 2%.

Mauricio Cardenas, Colombia’s Finance Minister, said it is time to think optimistically. “In general we have an economy that is solid, that advances well… confronting volatility in the international market,” said the official.

Fedesarrollo is an independent research organization based in Colombia’s capital that conducts social and economic policy research for the purposes of improving public policy centered around higher education and development matters.

Sources