MANILA, Philippines – Consumer confidence rebounded to positive territory at 4.6% in the 3rd quarter of 2019 from -1.3% in the 2nd quarter, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said on Thursday, September 19.

Respondents of the Consumer Expectations Survey attributed the optimistic outlook to improvements in the peace and order situation, availability of more jobs, additional and high income, and good governance.

Optimists now outnumber pessimists in the 3rd quarter.

However, consumers remain less optimistic with the inflation rate, peso-borrowing rate, unemployment, and changes in prices.

For the last quarter of the year, consumers are even more upbeat. The confidence index rose to 15.8%.

Moreover, consumers’ spending outlook grew to 32.7% for the 3rd quarter and jumped even more to 36.2% for the 4th quarter.

However, the spending outlook across commodity groups was mixed, as respondents expected higher expenditures on electricity, food, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages and tobacco, fuel, water, personal care, and clothing.

The percentage of households with savings reached an all-time high of 37.5% in the 3rd quarter from 35.2% in the 2nd quarter.

Among households with savings, majority kept their money in a bank at 66.9%, slightly lower compared to 67.1% in the 2nd quarter.

The survey was conducted during July 2019. Over 5,000 households were selected from the list of the Philippine Statistics Authority, which is considered a representative sample of households nationwide. – Rappler.com