India Consumers’ Mood Is Worsening, Slack Building, Surveys Show
- RBI survey shows consumer confidence at its lowest since 2015
- Capacity utilization rate for companies at lowest on record
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Consumer sentiment in India worsened to an almost five-year low and manufacturing slack at companies widened to the most on record, indicating Asia’s third-largest economy is yet to put a floor under growth.
The current situation index fell to 83.7 in January, the lowest since March 2015, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s consumer confidence survey, where 100 is the dividing line between pessimism and optimism. Another survey showed capacity utilization at companies dropped to 69.1% in the second quarter of the year ending March -- the lowest since the RBI started tracking it in 2009 -- mirroring subdued demand conditions.