Colombia: Consumer sentiment improves in January
Consumer sentiment came in at minus 7.9 in January, up notably from December’s minus 17.3. January’s result marked the best performance since August 2022. Despite the uptick, the index remained entrenched below the 0-point threshold, indicating pessimism among consumers.
The improvement in the headline print reflected consumers becoming less pessimistic regarding the country’s general economic situation in the coming 12 months. Similarly, consumers were less downbeat over their current financial situations than a year ago. Lastly, consumers also became less averse to making big-ticket purchases.
The gradual improvement in consumer sentiment is good news. However, sentiment remains pessimistic overall, boding ill for private spending ahead. Markedly above-target inflation is likely to continue dampening sentiment in the coming months.