China's consumer confidence index slid 0.4 points quarter-on-quarter to 95.8 points in the first three months of the year, according to data released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics.

 

But the bureau said the index increased by 1.8 points compared with the same period of last year.

 

Consumer confidence, measured by the consumer confidence index, is defined as the degree of optimism on the state of the economy that consumers are expressing through their activities of savings and spending.

 

Observers said with improved employment and increased income for residentials, retail sales in the first quarter would likely grow 15 percent. Given the imperfect social security system and difficulties in acquiring medical services, housing and education, however, consumer confidence was not very strong, the observers believed.

 

According to the statistical bureau, consumer satisfaction index, which illustrates consumers' satisfaction about the state of the economy, stood at 91.9 points in the first quarter, up 0.7 points year-on-year, while the consumer perspective index, which reflects consumers' views about the development perspective of the economy, reached 98.4 points, up 2.3 points.

 

In comparison, the entrepreneur confidence index, which measures the understanding, views and projections of entrepreneurs, hit 142.0 points in the first quarter, surging past the 140-point barrier for the first time.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2007)