China's bankcard consumer confidence rebounds

BEIJING - Chinese consumer confidence rebounded month on month in March as economic activities are back on track after the Spring Festival, according to an index released on Friday.

Manufacturing under lingering pressure

The Bankcard Consumer Confidence Index (BCCI), compiled by Xinhua News Agency and China UnionPay, a national bank card association, edged up 0.35 from February to 84.92 last month.

A higher reading in the index shows an increase in consumers' desire to spend.

A report released along with the index attributed the rebound mainly to rising consumption of non-daily necessities in March. The consumption of bankcard users in household appliances and autos rose by 0.82 and 1.67 from February, respectively.

The report forecast that consumer confidence will likely continue to rise as economic activities are warming.

Official data showed that China's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector rose by 0.1 month-on-month to 50.3 in March.

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