Shanghai's consumer, investor confidence remains positive

Shanghai's consumer and investor confidence both stayed positive in the first quarter, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

The Shanghai University of Finance and Economics' quarterly Consumer Confidence in Shanghai Index rose 5.4 points from the fourth quarter of 2021 to 117.1 points.

But that was still 3.8 points lower than a year earlier.

The university's Index of Investor Confidence was 109.46 points, down 11.15 points from the previous quarter and 9.08 points lower than the same period last year.

For both indexes, a reading above 100 signifies optimism. Below 100 indicates pessimism.

The rebound in consumer confidence can be partly attributed to the "Two Sessions" held in the first quarter, during which the central authorities sent some positive signals, said Xu Guoxiang, director of the university's Applied Statistics Research Center.

The sharp slump in the fourth quarter last year also created a low base.

The increasing uncertainties brought by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, rising energy prices following inflation in the Western world, and the resurgence of COVID-19 during the survey period, however, led to the year-on-year decline in consumer confidence, Xu said.

The sub-index for consumers' evaluation of Shanghai's economy soared 14.3 points from the fourth quarter to 147.3 points, a slight drop of 0.4 points from a year earlier.

A sub-index of purchase intentions, however, shed 2.8 points from the previous quarter to 91.7 points in January-March. The index of home-buying intentions tumbled 4.8 points quarter on quarter while surging 14.2 points from a year earlier.

The intention to buy cars and durables also dipped from the previous quarter, but slightly, while the year-on-year figures for both fell sharply.