Consumer Confidence Drops Almost 9% in February 2025

There’s been a major shift in Belizeans’ purchasing confidence. According to the latest report from the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB), the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for February 2025 has fallen to 46.0. This drop “reflects a decrease of 8.9 percent from 50.5 recorded in January 2025,” according to SIB.

The CCI gauges sentiments about the economy, personal finances, and major purchases. According to SIB, it has seen declines across all three components: perceptions of current economic conditions and household finances compared to the past year, expectations for the future, and views on whether it’s a good time to make major purchases like homes or cars.

SIB reported that perceptions of current financial situations and the national economy dropped by 9.4%, from a slight optimism of 50.4 to a pessimistic 45.7. Expectations for future financial conditions also fell by 7%, from 59.6 to 55.4. The largest drop was seen in the ‘Durable Goods’ component, which decreased by 11.1%, from 41.6 to 37.0, which means consumers expressed increased reluctance towards major purchases such as homes and cars.

Corozal saw the sharpest decline, with a 20.3% drop, while Stann Creek experienced the smallest decrease at 3.1%. Both urban and rural areas showed a downward trend, with urban sentiment falling by 12.5% and rural by 6%.

Gender and age groups were also impacted, with male consumers showing a 6% drop and females a 7.5% decline. The 35-44 age group reported the most significant drop in confidence, falling by 14.2%.

“After four consecutive months of steadily rising sentiment, consumer confidence reverted to an overall pessimistic level, with all three subcomponents of the index registering a decline over the one-month period,” SIB said in its report.