Egypt consumer confidence falls 4.1% in November

Egyptian consumer confidence fell 4.1 per cent month-on-month in November 2012, according to a recent report by the cabinet's Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC). The IDSC report attributed the regression in confidence to the deteriorating economic conditions and ineffectiveness of economic policies. Family income index, meanwhile, surged almost 2.6 per cent in November to 59.7 points, with 24.4 per cent of those polled believing that the time was suitable to purchase durable goods, compared to 20.2 per cent in October 2012. The economic-policy confidence index also declined by 4.9 per cent month-on-month in November to reach 85.8 points, with only 18.1 per cent of Egyptians polled believe that newly-implemented economic policies would lead to an improvement in their financial status, versus 20.2 per cent in October 2012. Expectations of improved economic and living conditions - for both household and the society as a whole - fell by 6.1 per cent, but remained the highest among other indices standing at 150.8 points. Adults aged 50 years and above were the most optimistic, according to the report, followed by middle-aged groups between 30 and 50 years of age. The youth aged between 18 and 30 years, however, were the most pessimistic in the month of November 2012, almost two years since the January 2011 popular uprising, the cabinet's report indicates. From: Ahram Online