Colombia: Consumers turn markedly more pessimistic in April
Consumers turned pessimistic at the start of the second quarter, with the Fedesarrollo consumer confidence index plunging into negative territory in April, as it fell from 1.2 points in March to minus 9.6 points. The index, thus, moved below the critical zero-point threshold separating optimism from pessimism among consumers, signaling a deterioration in overall sentiment in April.
The latest print was underpinned by an across-the-board decline. Consumers were significantly more downbeat about both their personal finances and the general economic conditions over the next twelve months. Moreover, they held more pessimistic views on their current personal financial situation compared to a year ago, while their willingness to purchase big-ticket items swung into negative territory and deteriorated the most among all sub-components.