Customers shop at a local supermarket. Viet Nam's consumer confidence drops slightly in October. — Photo vietbao.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) ─ The ANZ-Roy Morgan Vietnam Consumer Index has fallen to 134.7 this month, down 0.3 point over last month.

According to an ANZ Bank report dated October 22, 53 per cent of the Vietnamese households, down five percentage points from September, expect their family to be better off next year in terms of personal finances.

The number of households expecting Viet Nam to have good times financially, has also fallen three percentage points to reach 51 per cent over October.

"Wealth effects from the equity market are a key determinant of consumer confidence in Viet Nam, and the weakness in the local bourse over the month has clearly weighed on consumer confidence," said Glenn Maguire, the chief economist of the bank in South Asia, ASEAN and the Pacific.

However, 42 per cent of the Vietnamese people, the highest level so far this year, believe now is a good time to buy durable goods.

"With consumer price inflation having continued to soften recently, price-savvy consumers are recognising that the present is a good time to purchase a major household item. This dynamic suggests a slight upside risk to domestic demand going forward," said Glenn.

In October, 61 per cent, up one percentage point, of the Vietnamese people expect good times economically over the next five years. ─ VNS