Asia, Gulf most optimistic consumer markets: Nielsen study

Countries in Asia, including India and China, and the Gulf continued to dominate the list of most upbeat consumer markets, according to a Nielsen survey. Indonesians remained the world’s most bullish consumers in the final quarter of 2013, the quarterly study said.

The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index stayed at 94 in the fourth quarter for a third straight quarter, but was up 3 points from the same period a year earlier.

A reading below 100, however, signals still relatively low consumer morale. In the euro zone, confidence rose sharply in Ireland and improved in Germany and Spain. Consumer sentiment in the United States slipped four points from a six-year high in the third quarter although it was five points higher than in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Nielsen was confident that despite a slip back at the end of last year confidence in the United States, the world’s biggest consumer market, would pick up again in 2014 as economic growth gains momentum, supporting the global economy.