Canadian Consumer Confidence Ticks Higher in March 2009

TORONTO, March 23, 2009; Ka Yan Ng writing for Reuters reported that consumer confidence picked up in March as more Canadians said now was a good time to make a major purchase, while the majority saw their financial situations unchanged over the coming six months, the Conference Board of Canada said on Monday.

The board's Index of Consumer Confidence rose to 71.5 in March, up 2.7 points from February and above the 67.7 hit in December, the lowest mark since the 1981-82 recession.

"Considerable concern" remained over financial pressures, the board reported, but sentiment improved on the question of future employment opportunities.

On questions about the current and future financial situation, the majority of responses fell into the "unchanged" category, the Conference Board said.

"It appears that most people feel unaffected by the ongoing Canadian recession and believe they will continue to be unaffected going forward," the research organization said.

There was a small uptick in sentiment about the employment outlook, but the Conference Board said it was unclear whether the improvement was an upward trend or a temporary correction.

The survey was done ahead of the most recent employment report, which showed Canada had lost 82,600 jobs in February. The country slipped into a recession in the fourth quarter of last year and recent figures suggest the economy had worsened.

An increasing number of Canadians believe now is a good time to make a major purchase such as a home or a car. That number rose to 34.7 percent, up 4.6 points from February.

The numbers suggest consumers are taking notice of deep discounts and falling interest rates, the Conference Board said, as the number of respondents who said now was a bad time to make a major purchase dropped 5.8 percentage points.

The survey was conducted March 5 to 13, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.19 percent, 19 times out of 20.

Editing for Reuters by Rob Wilson