Customers select handbags. Domestic consumer confidence continues to improve. — Photo vinacorp.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The ANZ-Roy Morgan Vietnam Consumer Confidence Index gained 5.8 points to 141.1 in October, rising well above the long-term average of 135.9.

ANZ Bank said in a report today that the index is also 6.4 points higher than it was a year ago, and the latest improvement stems from increased optimism about personal finances as well as future economic conditions in Viet Nam.

Thirty-four per cent (up five percentage points month-on-month) of Vietnamese respondents said their families are "better off" financially than the same time last year, while a record low 16 per cent (down six percentage points) chose "worse off".

Fifty-seven (up two percentage points) expect their families to be "better off" financially this time next year, while only four per cent (down two percentage points) expect to be "worse off", the lowest ever recorded for the indicator since the survey started in mid-2014.

Fifty-seven per cent (up seven percentage points) expect the country to experience "good times" financially during the next 12 months, but 10 per cent (down two percentage points) expect "bad times".

Sixty-four per cent of the respondents expect the country to have "good times" economically in the next five years, while five per cent (down two percentage points) expect the domestic economy to have "bad times".

"Consumer sentiment rose both strongly and broadly in October in a sign that the Vietnamese economy continues to uniquely weather the global trade slowdown," Glenn Maguire, the chief economist of ANZ Bank in South Asia, ASEAN and the Pacific, said.

"The strong ongoing performance of the external sector is having positive spill-over effects into the broader economy, particularly for domestic-facing sectors," he said.

Maguire said the global backdrop will continue to remain on a weakening trend due to China's economic slowdown and the recovery trend in the United States, Japan and Europe firming but not strong.

"Thus, it is important that domestic demand in Viet Nam emerges as a further stabiliser to growth. Our consumer confidence index clearly confirms that this is happening," he said.

According to the report, the number of respondents who felt that "now is a good time to buy" major household items edged lower to 40 per cent, the lowest value recorded for the indicator since November 2014.

On the other hand, the number of respondents who felt "now is a bad time to buy" also slipped by one percentage point to 11 per cent, the lowest level since February 2015. — VNS