August consumer confidence down marginally in lead up to Presidential election

• All three indices remained at pessimistic levels
• The Index of Consumer Sentiment down by 3 points
• Index of Consumer Expectations dips by 4 points
• Index of Current Conditions down by 3 points

Sri Lanka’s Consumer confidence dropped marginally in August 2024 in lead-up to Presidential election, the Institute for Health Policy (IHP) survey showed.

As per the latest report, all three indices remained at pessimistic levels and dropped marginally in August 2024 compared to the previous month. 

The Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS), the broadest measure of public views on personal economic status and the national economy, decreased by 3 points to 30. The Index of Consumer Expectations (ICE), which tracks future perceptions, fell by 4 points to 31, and the Index of Current Conditions (ICC), a measure of perceptions of current conditions, dropped 3 points to 28. 

“The decrease is primarily due to growing pessimism about the country’s prospects over the next five years,” the IHP said.

All IHP SLOTS consumer confidence indices range from zero to a potential maximum of 100, with levels below 50 indicating net pessimism.

The Consumer Confidence Index estimates are based on 19,233 interviews conducted between Oct. 21, 2021–Sep. 7, 2024, including 1,150 interviews conducted in August 2024, with sample sizes varying between indices depending on response rates. All estimates are adjusted to be representative of the national population, including gender, age, ethnicity, and income level.

The SLOTS platform tracks public opinion and wellbeing daily using a large national panel recruited by face-to-face interviews and other randomly dialled respondents, with numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications that use 
the data.