Russia: Consumer confidence improves mildly in Q1

The consumer confidence index published by the Federal Statistics Service (Rosstat) rose to minus 16 points in the first quarter, from minus 17 points in the final quarter of 2018. Despite the modest uptick, the index lies well below the 0-point threshold, indicating that pessimists outnumber optimists in the Russian economy.

Looking at the details, the improvement in sentiment was chiefly due to an improved assessment of households of the future economic situation and their personal future situation. However, consumers’ assessments of the current economic situation were unchanged.

Russia Private Consumption Forecast

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect private consumption to expand 1.8% in 2019, which is unchanged from last month’s projection. For 2020, panelists expect private consumption to increase 2.5%.