MNI Russia Consumer Sentiment Indicator: Russia Consumer Sentiment Lowest Since March-15 - Increasingly Negative Expectations For Future Finances

Consumer sentiment in Russia slipped slightly in January. While the move was small, it left confidence at the lowest for nearly a year and other key metrics in the survey at record lows.
 
The MNI Russia Consumer Sentiment Indicator fell to 69.2 in January from 70.1 in December. While consumers were somewhat less pessimistic about their current situation, expectations for the future turned increasingly negative.
 
Sentiment is running a little below the 2015 average of 71.6 and is 2% down from a year ago. It is, though, significantly below the series average of 84.5, although has at least stabilised with a reading around the 70 mark proving to be a floor. 
 
Three of the five components what make up the MNI Russia Consumer Sentiment Indicator increased in January, led by a 3.6% increase in Current Personal Finances. The other measure of current conditions, Durable Buying Conditions, also rose 0.3% on the month. Expectations for Business Conditions in One Year also increased 2.8%.
 
It was an outsized move in Expected Personal Finances, which fell 12.1% between December and January that weighed on sentiment. Respondents were also more negative about the outlook for long-term business conditions.
 
Other parts of the survey weakened further. Respondents dialled down their appetite for car buying to a record low and attitudes on the current business climate also hit a series low.
 
The only bright spot was a fall in inflation expectations, although it remains high and respondents were even more dissatsified with the current price level.
 
Commenting on the latest survey, Philip Uglow, Chief Economist of MNI Indicators said, “While the fall in consumer confidence in January was relatively small, it pushed the MNI Russia Consumer Sentiment Indicator back to the lowest since March 2015. Positive takeways are that sentiment has been relatively flat recently and looks to have plateaued, albeit at a low level. Moreover, we saw a welcome pull back in inflation expectations in January. Still, it’s difficult to put a gloss on a report which shows confidence at such a low level with a number of key metrics in the report at record lows."