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01/Dec/2007
Khaleej Times
The UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have shown greater declines in consumer confidence among countries in the Middle East at 93.4, 91.6 and 88.9 points respectively, a regional survey indicates.
This means a 6.6-point decline in the UAE, 8.4 in Qatar and 11.1 in Saudi Arabia, as compared to the April study, also done by regional online jobsite Bayt.com and YouGov Siraj, the largest full-service market research company in the Middle East.
Residents in the three countries have also become pessimistic in their financial future and career growth. Eight per cent fewer respondents, compared to the previous study, in the UAE saying they are less optimistic about good changes in business conditions and four per cent more admitting to the negative impact of high inflation on their business.
"There is an overall rising concern about salaries not being able to match the growing inflation," Bayt.com and YouGov said in a statement yesterday, on their quarterly study called The Consumer Confidence Index.
The latest study shows that consumers in the region are now reluctant to spend their money the way they used to, as buyer confidence has been eroded by the rising costs of living and a slowdown in some of the regional economies.
But optimism remains among the majority of consumers, believing that the situation will improve over the next few months, the statement said.
Rabea Ataya, CEO of Bayt.com, said the end of the year is "generally an uncertain time for employees and other professionals. "While consumer confidence is resilient overall, consumers are wary about the rising costs of living and are exploring ways to rein in their expenditure," Ataya added.
The two companies said they polled more than 14,000 adults across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, the Levant countries of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, and North Africa over a three-month period.
Respondents were asked about their attitudes towards their financial and job situations, their likelihood to purchase and invest and the regions employment market.
The statement said that details have been compared with the results in the April survey, which registered a higher consumer confidence than todays.
Nassim Ghrayeb, CEO of YouGov, noted that high inflation and the continuing drop of the US dollar against other major foreign currencies have mainly put pressure on the regional consumer.
"People have not been doing badly, but at the year-end there is a sense of pessimism towards finances," Ghrayeb said. "Without a significant economic shift, we may even see a drop in spending next year."
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