MANILA: Filipino households’ optimism about the Philippine economy eased slightly in the first quarter of 2017 from the preceding quarter, but sustained its turnaround from the pessimism that prevailed a year earlier, the latest Consumer Expectations Survey by the central bank shows.
Respondents to the CES cited increased incomes, more jobs, and even improved peace-and-order situation in the country for their optimism in the January to March 2017 period.
The confidence index (CI)—computed as the percentage of those that answered in the affirmative, less the percentage of those that answered otherwise—eased to 8.7 percent for the first quarter of 2017 from 9.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016.
But the CI for the first quarter reversed a negative 5.7 percent index recorded in the corresponding period in 2016, results of the CES by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released on Friday showed.
The index measures the average direction of change in three indicators: the overall condition of the economy, household finances and household income. A positive CI indicates a favorable view with regard to a given indicator, except for inflation, interest rates, unemployment and change in prices, whereas a positive CI indicates the opposite.
Respondents with negative views noted higher prices of goods and household expenditures, poor harvest, and unfavorable weather conditions, Deveza said.
Meanwhile, respondents with positive views cited improvements in the peace-and-order situation in the country, additional family income on the back of higher salary and stronger business activity, availability of more jobs and increase in the number of employed family members, and effective government policies as reasons for their optimism.
The nationwide survey—conducted from January 19 to 31—covered 5,574 households, of which 2,838 or 50.9 percent were from the National Capital Region (NCR) and 2,736 or 49.1 percent were from areas outside the NCR.
Biswas said another positive factor behind the steady confidence index was the sustained expansion in remittances by Filipino workers abroad, accounting for about 10 percent of the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP), he added.
