The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said consumer confidence in the second quarter and in the next months remain on the negative side as Filipinos continue to worry about high inflation, lower income, fewer jobs, and lack of financial aid for the poor. In its latest second quarter Consumer Expectations Survey (CES), the BSP noted that consumer sentiment was still pessimistic with an almost unchanged overall confidence index (CI) of -10.5 percent from -10.4 percent in the first quarter. This means that the pessimists continued to outnumber the optimists, but the margin was hardly changed, according to BSP Senior Director Redentor Paolo M. Alegre Jr. of the Department of Economic Statistics. He presented both the CES and the Business Expectations Survey second quarter reports on Friday, June 23. Alegre said the “sustained negative sentiment” was due to concerns over the following: faster increase in the prices of goods and higher household expenses; lower income; fewer available jobs; the effectiveness of government policies and programs on inflation management, economic resilience, high-quality and well-paid job creation; and financial assistance to low-income households. The consumer sentiment for the third quarter and the next 12 months did not show improvements as well. The CI for the third quarter declined to 4.6 percent from 7.5 percent in the previous survey, while the CI for the next 12 months also decreased to 20.5 percent from 22.7 percent. For both periods, consumers were concerned about rising household expenses when there are not enough income to settle it. They are also worried about the effectiveness of government policies and programs to generate employment, support economic growth, and control inflation. Alegre said consumer outlook was pessimistic across component indicators while it is mixed across income groups for the second quarter. Consumers were pessimistic when asked about their take on the country’s economic condition, their family’s financial situation, and family income. The low-income group or those earning less than P10,000 a month is the most pessimistic of the income groups because of higher prices of goods and more expenses when not all in the family have work. The outlook is steady among the middle-income group or those with up to P29,000 income since they see not much change in their family condition in terms of finances or in how much they earn. The CES noted that what was pessimistic before is now optimistic as in the case of the high income group or those with income of P30,000 and above. The reasons cited for the positive outlook are: higher income from wages/salaries, remittances, and other sources; more available jobs and permanent employment; and more working family members. For the next quarter and the year ahead, consumer confidence across all income groups was less favorable compared to the previous survey. The CES included consumers’ buying intentions, their loans and savings. For the second quarter, the BSP said consumers are less hesitant to buy big-ticket items such as house and lot, agricultural property or automotive vehicles. The sentiment however is less pessimistic with a CI of -67.7 percent from -72.8 percent in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the percentage of households with loans have increased in the second quarter with 24.8 percent of households taking out a loan in the last 12 months, higher than the 22.8 percent in the first quarter. The percentage of households with savings decreased to 30.2 percent from 32.9 percent in the first quarter. Consumers save up up for emergencies, health and medical expenses, retirement, education, house purchase, and business capital and investment. Based on the CES, consumers expect continued higher interest and inflation rates in the near term, as well as a weaker peso, and lower unemployment. They see inflation rising to an average of 5.2 percent in the next 12 months, above the government target of two percent to four percent. The latest survey was conducted April 3 to Aptil 18. The BSP surveyed 5,548 households. About 49.9 percent or 2,766 were from the National Capital Region (NCR) and 50.1 percent or 2,782 from areas outside of the NCR. Across income groups, the middle-income group had the highest number with 39.8 percent of the total surveyed, followed by the high-income group with 34.4 percent and the low-income group with 25.9 percent.