Argentina: Consumer confidence further down into pessimistic terrain in February
The Universidad Torcuato di Tella (UTDT) consumer confidence index edged down to 42.7 in February from 43.0 in January. Therefore, the index moved further below the 50-threshold that separates optimism from pessimism among consumers, where it has been for over two years.
February’s print chiefly reflected a deterioration in consumers’ outlook on the future general macroeconomic conditions. On the other hand, their willingness to purchase big-ticket items improved but remained at abysmal levels nonetheless. Moreover, consumers also had better assessments of their personal financial conditions compared to one year ago, and their expectations on their personal financial situation in one-year view strengthened somewhat.