Colombia: Consumer sentiment plummets to record low in April
The Fedesarrollo consumer confidence index nosedived to minus 41.3 in April, from minus 23.8 in March, and marked the worst reading on record since the series began in November 2001. The index thus moved further away from the critical zero-threshold separating pessimism and optimism among consumers.
April’s significant downturn largely reflected a sharp deterioration in households’ perception of their current financial situation compared to 12 months ago, as well as in their willingness to purchase large-ticket items. Furthermore, consumers’ expectations of general economic conditions in the coming year turned markedly more pessimistic compared to the previous month. Moreover, on whether the economy will be in a “good” or “bad” state in the coming year, more consumers expected the latter in April.