(MENAFN- Arab Times) MasterCard (http://newsroom.mastercard.com/) on Thursday revealed the results of the latest MasterCard Worldwide IndexTM of Consumer Confidence, which found that, with a score of 84.7, consumer confidence levels in Kuwait are very optimistic.
Consumers in Kuwait are very optimistic in their attitudes towards most of the indicators measured in the Index. When compared to the previous edition of the Index released 6 months ago, consumers are most optimistic about regular income (96.2 vs. 93.8), quality of life (91.3 vs. 90.5) and employment (88.8 vs. 88.4). These were followed by economy (88.3 vs. 86.5) and stock market (59.0 vs. 82.0).
The survey also highlighted that male respondents (87.1) tend to be more optimistic about their prospects for the coming months than their female counterparts (82.3) and that consumers under the age of 30 (85.5) are more optimistic than respondents over the age of 30 (84.4).
"The consumer confidence score for Kuwait has remained consistently high for the last few years, in part due to its bullish economy. This sentiment is supported by analysts' expectations that Kuwait is projected to post the largest surplus of GDP for the current fiscal year," said Safdar Khan, market manager, Qatar, Oman & Kuwait, MasterCard Worldwide.
Across the Middle East, the level of consumer confidence is very optimistic at an average of 83.5, and this sentiment is reflected across all five indicators. When compared to the previous edition of the Index released 6 months ago, respondents in the Middle East are most optimistic about regular income (89.8 vs. 91.3), employment (85.5 vs. 85.5) and the economy (84.4 vs. 86.5). Consumer sentiment towards quality of life (82.9 vs. 87.6) and the stock market (74.9 vs. 77.8) is also positive.
The Middle East's aggregate score of 83.5 also remains higher than that of Asia/ Pacific (57.2) and Africa (76.1).
The MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence is based on a survey conducted between 24 April 2012 and 10 June 2012 among 11,367 respondents aged 18 to 64 years in 25 countries within Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Now in its 20th year in Asia/Pacific and its 9th year in the Middle East and Africa, the Index is the region's most comprehensive and longest running consumer confidence survey.
The Index is based on a survey which measures consumer confidence on prevailing expectations in the market over the next six months, based on five economic indicators: economy, employment, stock market, regular income and quality of life. The Index score is calculated with zero as the most pessimistic, 100 as most optimistic and 50 as neutral.
Amongst other findings in the Middle East:
n Consumer confidence is highest in Qatar with a score of 96.6.
n All markets surveyed across the Middle East, with the exception of Lebanon, reflected positive levels of consumer confidence, with scores of 84 or higher.
n Consumer confidence in Egypt is at a record high of 90.7.
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