Consumers see bleak future for RP economy

Despite continued assertions by the government that the economy is improving, consumers across the Philippines remain bleak about the future, as concerns over the upcoming national elections overshadowed the macroeconomic achievements of the current administration. The first ever nationwide Consumer Expectations Survey by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which was released Friday, showed that negative sentiments dominated the country, even across all income groups. "Apprehensions about the peace and order situation in the lead-up to the May elections explained in part this development," the BSP said in its study. Consumers all over the country had a confidence index of -33.3 percent for the first quarter of 2007, with their sentiments bleakest about the Philippine economy. The negative result means that there were more negative responses than positive ones when people were asked about their prospects for the quarter. According to the survey, the country's consumers had a confidence index of -47.5 percent for the Philippines' economic condition, -32.8 percent for their family's financial condition, and -19.7 percent for their family's income. However, the BSP study also recorded a more upbeat consumer sentiment for the the next quarter of the year. The BSP study showed that for the second quarter of 2007, the country's consumers had an overall confidence level of -11.1 percent. The study further shows sentiment turning, but only slightly, positive for the duration of the year. "Consumers were broadly optimistic that conditions would improve over the next 12 months as the overall index for the Philippines posted a positive 0.8 percent," the BSP said. The BSP study also showed that more Filipinos think that the first quarter of the year was not a good time to buy assets. The BSP revealed that the Philippines has an overall buying condition index of 43.9 percent. "Respondents observed that purchasing consumer durables and motor vehicles was not timely given that gasoline prices and power rates are high and that households generally adjust their purchases after the holiday season," the BSP said in its study. The BSP survey results also showed that of the consumers receiving remittance from overseas Filipino workers, most spent the OFW earnings of food and other household needs. Only 7.2 percent of households receiving remittances set aside part for savings, while even less, 2.3 percent, set aside part of the earnings for investments.-GMANews.TV