China's bank-card consumer confidence edges down

BEIJING - China's consumer confidence declined slightly in December on a month-on-month basis, according to an index released Monday.

The Bank-card Consumer Confidence Index (BCCI), compiled by Xinhua News Agency and China UnionPay, a financial services corporation, dropped 0.58 points from November to 90.29 in December.

However, on a year-on-year basis, the index rose 2.08 points, according to a statement released by China UnionPay.

Thanks to year-end promotions and holidays including Christmas and the New Year, consumption of bank-card holders in supermarkets rose 10.1 percent from November.

As prices of refined oil products dropped, trailing declines in international oil prices, consumption in gas stations dropped 5.7 percent from November.

"Looking ahead, the BCCI may continue to decline as the country's consumption slowed and the external environment will somewhat hurt the confidence of bank-card users," the statement said.

In December, the purchasing managers' index for the manufacturing sector stood at 49.4, down from 50 in November.

The BCCI, first released in 2009, is based on bank-card transaction data and analysis of changes in urban consumption.