Econintersect: Consumer confidence was positive at the end of last year in only 14 out of 52 countries surveyed worldwide. The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index’s average score, however, was unchanged from the third quarter at 90, helped by sharp jumps in confidence in Norway, Turkey and Switzerland as well as the Philippines.A reading below 100 signals pessimism about the outlook. India came top, improving on its third quarter reading. Still, India’s index reading of 129 was well below the country’s record 137 index reading in the second half of 2006, the highest reading for any country since the Nielsen consumer confidence index was launched in 2005.
Confidence was lowest in Croatia followed by Portugal, which has imposed austerity measures as it struggles to slash high debt.
Consumer confidence in Greece slumped from the third quarter as the country continued to grapple with its debt burden while Ireland, which was forced to follow Greece and seek an international bailout late last year was also in the 10 least optimistic markets.
China confidence fell four points to an even 100 while Brazil rose five points to 108, putting that country in the top ten.
For reference, here is the 3Q/2010 summary table which is the reference for the current (4Q) release today.
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Sources: Reuters, The Times of India and Nielsen 3Q-2010 Report.
