China's consumer confidence falls in April

BEIJING - China's consumer confidence fell slightly last month as food prices rebounded in late April, according to a report released Friday.

The Bankcard Consumer Confidence Index (BCCI), jointly compiled and released by the Xinhua News Agency and China UnionPay, stood at 86.65 last month, down 0.12 percentage points from March.

On a year-on-year basis, the BCCI index was down 0.15 percentage points.

The decline in the index was largely blamed on a rebound in food prices, especially produce, in late April, as the Labor Day holiday boosted domestic demand.

Higher living expenses, rising fuel prices, a slowing domestic economy and a weak global economic recovery further dampened consumers' confidence and curbed their spending on non-essentials, according to the report.

However, the report said the government's efforts to curb inflation and the introduction of consumption incentives will help stabilize consumer confidence.

The National Bureau of Statistics said Friday that China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 3.4 percent year-on-year in April, easing slightly from the 3.6-percent rate registered in March.

The Xinhua News Agency and China UnionPay started compiling the BCCI index in April 2009 based on bank card transaction data and analyses of structural changes in urban consumption.