Bankcard holders go slow on spending
By Maggie Zhang |
July 12, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE bankcard holders trimmed their non-essential spending in June due to rising cost of food, especially pork, an industry index showed yesterday.
The bankcard consumer confidence index dipped to 86.06 points in June, down 0.24 points from a year ago. It also slipped 0.05 points from May as the second straight monthly drop, China UnionPay Co said yesterday.
The index tracks expenses of card users, including 200,000 individuals, in affluent cities who frequently use the cards to pay for 90 percent of their expenses. A higher index signals that more bankcards are being used to pay for non-necessity expenditure such as luxury goods and travel.
Rising food prices is the main reason for the slump in non-essential consumption, UnionPay said.
China's consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, rose 6.4 percent in June as a three-year high. It was a sharp jump over May's 5.5 percent as costs of food rocketed 14.4 percent, up from 11.7 percent a month ago.
Pork prices gained an annualized 57.1 percent last month.
"Bankcard holders are cutting non-essential spending as rising food prices push them to shop less, aside from basic necessities," the Shanghai-based firm said in a statement.
Its data from shops showed that contribution from restaurants, jewelers and entertainment facilities dropped to 12.68 percent, down 0.84 percentage points.
Ministry of Agriculture data revealed that the agricultural products wholesale index rose to 194.5, this year's high, at the end of June from 187.2 at the start of the month.
The bankcard consumer confidence index dipped to 86.06 points in June, down 0.24 points from a year ago. It also slipped 0.05 points from May as the second straight monthly drop, China UnionPay Co said yesterday.
The index tracks expenses of card users, including 200,000 individuals, in affluent cities who frequently use the cards to pay for 90 percent of their expenses. A higher index signals that more bankcards are being used to pay for non-necessity expenditure such as luxury goods and travel.
Rising food prices is the main reason for the slump in non-essential consumption, UnionPay said.
China's consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, rose 6.4 percent in June as a three-year high. It was a sharp jump over May's 5.5 percent as costs of food rocketed 14.4 percent, up from 11.7 percent a month ago.
Pork prices gained an annualized 57.1 percent last month.
"Bankcard holders are cutting non-essential spending as rising food prices push them to shop less, aside from basic necessities," the Shanghai-based firm said in a statement.
Its data from shops showed that contribution from restaurants, jewelers and entertainment facilities dropped to 12.68 percent, down 0.84 percentage points.
Ministry of Agriculture data revealed that the agricultural products wholesale index rose to 194.5, this year's high, at the end of June from 187.2 at the start of the month.
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