Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesian consumers are increasingly more upbeat regarding the current and future economic conditions, according to the country's central bank on Tuesday.

Bank Indonesia reported that the consumer confidence index went up to 125 points in January versus the 123.8 points posted the previous month. A reading of over 100 shows optimism among Indonesian consumers.

"We attribute this growth to the higher current economic condition index [CECI] and the consumer expectation index [CEI]," Bank Indonesia's spokesperson Erwin Haryono said in a statement.

Bank Indonesia revealed that Indonesia's CECI stood at 115.6 points in January. This marks an increase from 113.6 in December 2023. Greater job availability (118.4), coupled with a higher current income index (116.5), has boosted Indonesians' confidence in present economic conditions.

The survey also showed that Indonesians were optimistic about the economic conditions over the next 6 months. CEI has risen from 133.9 points in December 2023 to 134.5 points the following month.

According to Erwin, CEI's growth is mostly driven by the consumer's expectations towards job availability and business over the next 6 months. Expectations towards the job market and business activities stood at 133.7 and 134.9 points in January, respectively.

Respondents who have a bachelor's degree are the most upbeat about the future job market. Data shows the job availability expectations within this group of respondents reached 152.4 in January, up from 133.7 a month earlier.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/business/indonesias-consumer-confidence-index-goes-up-in-january