Macro and Politics

* The consumer confidence index edged down from 85 level to 83.5 level in December, which stands for the lowest level since July. As a result, the index, which averaged 83.9 in 3Q25, remained broadly unchanged in the final quarter of the year, posting an average of 84. It is important to underscore that the consumer confidence index — which ranges from 0 to 200 — signals pessimism when it falls below 100, and optimism when it exceeds that threshold. A breakdown of the December consumer confidence index reveals the following: The sub-index reflecting the financial situation of household at present decreased from 69.6 to 67.9, the sub-index measuring financial situation expectation of household over the next 12 months dropped from 85.7 to 85.2,  general economic situation expectation over the next 12 months eased from 79.6 to 78.2 and  the sub-index tracking assessment on spending money on durable goods over the next 12 months — a key indicator of domestic demand — retreated from 105 level to 102.6 in December. The Consumer Confidence Index, which has remained broadly flat within the 83 – 85 range since April and continues to stand below the 100 – threshold, indicates that the prevailing pessimism in consumer sentiment persists.