MIER index shows improved consumer sentiment in 1Q

High hopes: People shop at a mall in Petaling Jaya. Consumers are keeping their fingers crossed that their incomes would improve further in the next few months.

PETALING JAYA: Amid the global geopolitical tensions and rising oil prices, Malaysia’s transition into the endemic phase and the re-opening of international borders are shoring up consumer sentiment.

This is reflected by the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) Consumer Sentiments Index (CSI), which rose 11.7 points quarter-on-quarter to 108.9 in the first quarter of this year (1Q22), again breaching the 100-point optimism level it last did two quarters ago.