Russia: Consumer confidence plunges to over four-year low in Q2
The second-quarter consumer confidence index, published by the Federal Statistics Service (Rosstat) on 7 July, nosedived to minus 30 points, from the first quarter’s minus 11 points and marking the worst reading since Q1 2016. As a result, the index plunged further below the 0-point threshold, where it has been since Q3 2008, signaling that pessimists firmly outnumbered optimists in the Russian economy.
The collapse in consumer sentiment was predominantly driven by a marked economic fallout from Covid-19 amid unprecedented social distancing measures and nationwide lockdown implemented by the government to contain the outbreak. Consumers’ views of the country’s current and future economic situation, as well as the assessment of both their own current and future economic situation, deteriorated significantly in Q2 and remained deeply entrenched in negative territory. Similarly, households’ willingness to make big-ticket purchases and the assessment of their ability to save both worsened and were stuck in negative territory in the quarter.