Colombia: Consumer confidence hits over three-year low in March
Consumers turned notably more pessimistic in March, with the Fedesarrollo consumer confidence index plunging to minus 23.8 from minus 11.2 in February and marking the worst reading in over three years. The index thus moved further away from the critical zero-threshold separating pessimism and optimism among consumers in March.
March’s downturn was largely driven by a sharp deterioration in consumers’ appraisal of their current financial situation compared to a year ago, as well as in their willingness to purchase large-ticket items. Moreover, households’ expectations over the economic times in the year ahead worsened markedly, while their assessment of general economic conditions in the coming 12 months turned slightly less negative compared to February.