FNB/BER Consumer Confidence Index (CCI)

Consumer confidence falters

After recovering further from -12 to -9 index points during the first quarter of 2021, the FNB/BER Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) backpedalled to -13 in the second quarter of 2021.[1] The latest reading remains well below the average CCI reading (of +2 since 1994) and denotes very depressed consumer confidence levels, albeit less negative compared to the extraordinarily pessimistic readings of -33 and -23 recorded during the second and third quarters of 2020 (when severe pandemic-induced economic restrictions were implemented). A breakdown of the CCI per household income group shows an alarming turnabout in consumer sentiment among low-income households, with the CCI for the least affluent consumer group crashing from a neutral level in the first quarter to deep into negative territory during the second quarter.

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