New Delhi: The MNI India Consumer Sentiment Indicator fell for the third straight month to 118.6 in July -- the weakest level since March -- amid weakening personal finances, said a Deutsche-Boerse survey.
Consumer sentiment which was on a downtrend since early 2014, had levelled off in recent months but the July out-turn showed "renewed weakness", the report said.
In June, the MNI India Consumer Sentiment Indicator stood at 119.5.
"This was a very disappointing result with consumer sentiment the weakest since March and not that far from the record low set in 2013. So far the rate cuts have had little impact, with consumers the most concerned about their finances since the survey began," MNI Indicators Chief Economist Philip Uglow said.
The Reserve Bank on Tuesday kept its policy rates unchanged, with Governor Raghuram Rajan saying that the headline inflation is at elevated levels and banks are yet to pass on the full benefits of previous rate cuts.
Accordingly, the repo rate at which the RBI lends to the system, will continue to be at 7.25 percent and the cash reserve ratio, which is the proportion of deposits banks have to park with the central bank, will remain 4 percent.
"Weaker overall sentiment was probably down in part to higher inflation," the report said adding that the CPI inflation is likely to turn upwards over the coming months.
The July survey shows that sentiment among Indian households remains fragile with consumers increasingly wary about their finances.
Consumers' views on jobs market also deteriorated in July as the Employment Outlook Indicator fell for the first time in four months to 119.3 in July from 122.7 in June.
Most economic data emanating from India over past few months have been "underwhelming" Uglow said adding industrial production, manufacturing output remain sluggish and capacity utilisation has been falling.
