(Yicai Global) July 7 -- The Shanghai Consumer Confidence Index nudged up in the second quarter from its levels in the first three months of this year and last, indicating that people are feeling more confident that Shanghai's economy will continue to do well.

The index reached 120.2 points, a gain of 2.9 points from the first quarter and 1.8 points from a year earlier, according to the latest data released today by the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, which publishes the indexes every three months.

The Purchase Willingness Index hit its highest level since the survey began at 106.1 points, up 12.3 points from the first quarter and 24.1 points from last year.

The Consumer Evaluation Index was at the same level as a year earlier and down 0.3 points from the first quarter to 118.9 points. The Consumer Expectation Index sat at 121.5 points, a gain of 6.1 points from the first quarter and 3.6 points from a year earlier.

The expectation indexes performed better in general than those on evaluation, showing that consumers are confident that Shanghai’s economy will gradually recover and continue to develop steadily, said SUFE Professor Xu Guoxiang and Associate Professor Cui Chang.

Consumers’ satisfaction with income and employment dropped, though, indicating that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be felt, the professors said.

The Income Evaluation Index fell to its lowest level in 10 years to 107.2 points, down 8.5 points from the first quarter down 25.5 points from a year earlier. The Income Expectation Index stood at 121.5 points, up 4.2 points from the first quarter but down 12.6 points from a year earlier.

The Employment Evaluation Index was 115.3 points in the second quarter, down 3.8 points from the first quarter and a drop of 9.7 points from a year earlier. The Employment Expectation Index rose 6.1 points from the first quarter.

Confidence in the real estate sector grew with both the indexes of housing purchase willingness and expectation reaching new heights. The Index of House Buying Opportunity rose to 80.3 points, up 8.2 points from the first quarter and 10.9 points from a year earlier. The Index of House Buying Opportunity Expectation was 87.1 points, up 4.4 points from the first quarter and 16.2 points from a year earlier.

Over 30 percent of those surveyed think now it is a good time to buy houses, 4.8 percentage points more than in the first quarter and 9.5 percentage points more than a year earlier. Nearly half believe it is not a good time to buy property, a fall of 3.3 percentage points from the first quarter and 1.5 percentage points from a year earlier, the survey said.

Editor: Kim Taylor