MNI Russia Consumer Sentiment Indicator: Russian Consumer Sentiment Up Slightly In February - Improvement In Consumersâ Willingness To Buy Big-Ticket Items

Consumer sentiment in Russia increased slightly in February but confidence continued to bump along close to record low levels.
 
The MNI Russia Consumer Sentiment Indicator increased to 69.6 in February from 69.2 in January. Consumers were a little more pessimistic about their current situation and slightly less pessimistic about the future.
 
Overall sentiment is very weak. It is running a little below the 2015 average of 71.6 and is 4.8% down from a year ago. The only positive that could be pointed to is that sentiment has been broadly flat around the 70 mark for some time, which appears to be a floor.
 
Three of the five components what make up the MNI Russia Consumer Sentiment Indicator increased in February, led by a 7.5% increase in Expected Personal Finances. The sharp rise followed a 12.1% drop in January. The increase in the expectations component contrasted with a 2.3% monthly drop in Current Personal Finances.
 
The spending environment improved for the second consecutive month with the Durable Buying Conditions  Indicator increasing to 77.7 in February from 77.2 in January. It’s now at the highest level since August 2015, and the strongest component of the MNI Russia CSI, but still very weak.
 
The outlook for business conditions was mixed. Consumers were increasingly pessimistic about the outlook over the coming year, with the Business Conditions in One Year Indicator sliding 3.2% on the month. In contrast, respondents were a little more optimistic about business conditions in the long-term.
 
Commenting on the latest survey, Philip Uglow, Chief Economist of MNI Indicators said, “Russian consumer confidence continued to move sideways in February with the MNI Russia Consumer Sentiment Indicator up slightly but still close to record lows.”
 
“The rise in the oil price might go some way to reduce pessimism, but it would likely take a sustained increase to help to reverse Russia’s woes."