UAE consumer confidence still high

UAE consumer confidence still high

Slight decrease, but Mastercard survey still points to good morale.

July 5, 2010 9:27 by Samuel Potter

Consumer confidence is still high in the UAE, according to a new survey from Mastercard.

Khaleej Times reports that, despite a small decline in the confidence felt by consumers as they face the rest of the year, overall morale remains high.

“We are encouraged to see that consumer confidence in the UAE is still high and consumers continue to be optimistic about the next six months,” said Raghu Malhotra, General Manager, Middle East (Gulf Countries), MasterCard Worldwide.

The UAE has seen a small decline in the current consumer confidence as it scored 82.4, compared to 86.1 six months ago, says the paper. This score is still high and a significant improvement from the year ago score of 29.6.

Released twice a year, the MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence Survey measures consumer confidence on prevailing expectations in the market for the next six months based on five economic indicators: economy, employment, stock market, regular income and quality of life.

Across the Middle East and Levant, consumer confidence is optimistic at 69.2. The current index is lower than the score from a period ago (74.5), but much higher than a year ago (49.9).