After two months of growth, Colombian household spending in March decreased 0.4 percent in real terms and reached 83.9 billion pesos, according to the monthly Gastometrics report presented by Raddar.
Regarding the 2023 data, there is a growth in current terms of 6.92 percentlower than the previous month, when it amounted to 78.5 billion pesos.
According to the firm, in March 2023 Colombian families had to face the highest inflation in recent yearsso they had to take measures to adjust their spending budgets.
“Between rises and falls, March 2024 once again shows us a change in the trend, because after a brief respite, with two months of recovery, real household spending returns to negative territory, pthat inflation continues its slow path of contraction”, details the report.
The report highlights on the other hand that credit placement, with credit card, consumer – free use and mortgage, had an annual growth of 10.1 percent, due mostly to the dynamics in mortgage credit placement compared to last year (53.6 percent).
For its part, credit card placement had an annual growth of 3.9 percent, lower than inflation of 7.36 percent.
According to Camilo Herrera, founder of Raddar, “in things like transportation, particularly vehicles, motorcycles and the demand for fuel, it has been falling, showing that households are not yet taking on debt to improve their asset conditions.”
Building a life of credit takes time and requires financial responsibility.
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The results of the first quarter of the year
By the year 2024, in March 70.24 percent of households were financed by salaries, rents and subsidies, while 21.46 percent for credit cards and consumer credit and a year ago it was 21.53 percent. In addition, 4.25 percent was attributed to remittances, which decreases compared to 2023 (5.22 percent).
For Raddar, wages and income are the main drivers of spending, but he draws attention to the fact that the decline in the labor market can be a factor against it, “meanwhile, credit capacity remains in a weakened state, adding uncertainty to the economy.” financial outlook”.
Herrera points out that the fall in interest rates is expected to deepen in the second half of the year and demand will react. of durable goods that is still ‘in the doldrums’.
