Indonesia's Consumer Confidence Recovers From Fuel-Price Shock<\/p>\n
Bloomberg\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia's consumer confidence rose in May as citizens began
\nrecovering from the shock of fuel price increases in March that
\npushed inflation to its highest in more than two years.<\/p>\n
The consumer confidence index rose 5.7 points to 94.2 in May
\nfrom April, according to Danareksa Research Institute in Jakarta,
\nwhich commissioned ACNielsen to survey 1,700 respondents in six
\nareas. An index number exceeding 100 indicates more optimists
\nthan pessimists. The survey has a 2 percent margin of error.<\/p>\n
"As push comes to shove, people strained to realign their life
\nanyway to higher oil prices and their unseemly effect on pushing
\nother prices of products higher that initially looked so hard to
\nbear but finally have worked their way through the system,"
\nDanareksa Research Institute's Stefanus P. Susanto and David
\nSumual wrote in the report.<\/p>\n
The survey showed more pessimists than optimist among both
\nurban and rural dwellers in May, even as more people expected to
\nfind work. The urban confidence index rose to 95.6 from 89.2 in
\nApril and the rural confidence index to 90.7 from 88.8.<\/p>\n
As many as 40 million of Indonesia's 238.5 million people are
\neither unemployed or work fewer than 35 hours a week, according
\nto the government. The economy, Southeast Asia's largest, grew
\n5.1 percent last year and the government has forecast growth of 6
\npercent this year, which would be its fastest in nine years.
\nConsumer spending drives about 70 percent of Indonesia's economy.
\n"People feel confident in a plausible upgrade of their family
\nincome status in the months up to November," Susanto and Sumual
\nwrote.
\nConsumer prices rose 8.8 percent in March from a year earlier,
\nthe fastest pace in at least 26 months after the government cut
\nfuel subsidy and fuel prices surged. Inflation slowed in April
\nand May.
\nDanareksa Research Institute is a unit of state-owned investment
\nbank PT Danareksa.
\nBelow are some key findings of the monthly survey:
\n*T Index May Apr Mar
\n-------------------------------------------------------------
\nConsumer confidence index 94.2 89.1 90.2
\nPresent situation index 74.2 70.9 73.4
\nExpectations index 109.2 102.7 102.8
\nUrban consumer confidence index 95.6 89.2 91.7
\nRural consumer confidence index 90.7 88.8 86.6 *T<\/p>",
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