Economy

China's Sept consumer confidence slightly down

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-09 16:14

BEIJING - Chinese consumers' confidence fell slightly in September largely due to continuous food price hikes, showed an index released on Saturday.

The Bankcard Consumer Confidence Index (BCCI), compiled by Xinhua News Agency and China UnionPay, the national bankcard association, dropped to 86.32 in September, down by 0.14 points from the same period last year and down by 0.04 points from August.

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The September BCCI report attributed the slight drop in consumer confidence in China to continuous price hikes of agricultural products since early July.

Figures of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) showed prices of agricultural products rose by two percent in September from August.

In addition, China's National Day holiday from October 1 to October 7 prompted many card users to postpone their purchases to the seven-day holiday, said the report.

However, the BCCI stayed basically stable due to favorable government policies, including measures to stabilize the real estate market and continuation of the relatively loose monetary policy, the report said.

Xinhua News Agency and China UnionPay jointly started compiling the BCCI index in April 2009 based on bankcard transaction data and analysis of structural changes in urban consumption.