Overview
- INEGI’s ENCO survey shows the Indicador de Confianza del Consumidor dropped 0.7 points in May to 43.5, marking a 3.4-point fall from last year and 17 straight months of annual declines.
- All five ENCO subindices fell in May, with the largest monthly drop of 1.6 points in households’ expectation for the country’s economy over the next 12 months.
- The price-expectations indicator stood at a low 15.3 points, signaling strong household pessimism about inflation and pressure from big increases in staples such as potato and tomato.
- Households reported weaker plans to buy durables and invest in housing, and saving-capacity measures fell to troubling levels (current saving possibility 40.0, 12-month saving expectation 50.4, housing-investment intention 18.9).
- Short-term consumption showed a one-month rise in March driven mainly by a 20.7% jump in remittances, but the economy contracted 0.6% in Q1 and analysts warn that falling confidence could widen the slowdown in private spending.