Urban consumer sentiment recovers in February: Survey

In February, consumer sentiment witnessed an improvement of 2.5 percentage points, according to the Refinitiv-Ipsos Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI).

"After January's major drop in sentiment of 7.3 percentage points, there is a recovery of 2.5 percentage points for February, seen in consumer confidence of urban Indians, across the four indices of jobs, economy, personal investment and personal finances," a statement from Ipsos said on Tuesday.

The index increased on the back of improvement in all its four weighted sub-indices. The PCSI Employment Confidence Sub-Index has increased marginally by 0.6 percentage points, the PCSI Economic Expectations Sub Index has moved up by 4.7 percentage points.

The Investment Climate Sub-Index, which gauges the mood on the investment scenario has inched up by 3.6 percentage points and the Current Personal Financial Conditions Sub-Index has grown by 2.2 percentage points, over last month.

"We see recovery across all data points, so technically, the mood of the masses has lifted. It could be due to the Budget providing some perceptual relief -- tax breaks. The focus needs to be on job creation and employment generation, for further reprieve," said Ipsos India CEO Amit Adarkar.

The IPSOS statement said the survey was conducted during January 24-February 7 with a sample size of 500 people aged 16-64 years.