Consumer sentiments expected to stay sluggish
Growth in consumer sentiments had slowed down in March 2023. After having registered growth rates of 4-5 per cent during January and February, consumer sentiments inched up by a slower 1.2 per cent in March. Data for the first three weeks of April suggests that the growth in consumer sentiments may be 2-3 per cent higher than in March. The 30-day moving average consumer sentiments index as of April 23 was 2.8 per cent higher than its level in March. While this looks like a distinct improvement, the growth is, however, quite low compared to the performance in January and February. And, as we will see later, the growth is not entirely convincing.
Average monthly growth in consumer sentiments during April 2022 through March 2023 was 2.68 per cent. There were no severe shocks during this period. Yet, the month-to-month change in consumer sentiments was somewhat volatile. The changes varied from -1.7 per cent in November to 7.1 per cent in September. The expected grow
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