The People's Bank of China released statistics on June 15 showing the urban income satisfactory (SAT) slid in the second quarter and the residents were cautiously optimistic about future earning.

The central bank made a questionnaire survey among the depositors in 50 large, medium and small cities nationwide in the mid-and late May this year.

The survey shows the index of current income sentiment is 17 percent, down sharply by 5.1 percentage point from that of the first quarter. The index of future income confidence is 20.3 percent, up slightly by 1.3 percentage point over the first quarter and 3.1 percentage points higher than the same period of last year.

In the meantime, residents were not happy about price hikes, neither were they optimistic about future price scenario. In April and May, the consumer price index released by State Bureau of Statistics increased by 1.2 percent and 1.4 percent respectively over the same period of last year. Rising refined oil prices and surging housing prices added to the dissatisfaction with prices.

The survey also shows that individual investors cut their deposits but increased stocks and funds in their financial portfolio. Funds, in particular, grew by 2.7 percentage points in their holdings over the first quarter.

"The bearish stock market in May was really attractive to urban residents with idle capital," says the central bank.

Compared with the first quarter, there is a decrease in the investment in housing, education and old-age, while the spending on other financial assets climbed to 6.6 percent in the total spending in the second quarter from 4.3 percent in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the interest in buying houses in Beijing and Shanghai began to recover, but those in middle and small cities still hesitated.

By People's Daily Online