Dubai: Consumer confidence in the UAE fell in the third quarter as shoppers became less enthusiastic about their personal finances and immediate spending, according to a new survey by research firm Nielsen.

Consumer confidence retreated for the second consecutive quarter, hitting the lowest level since 2013. The Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index put the UAE’s score at 107, down one point from the second quarter.

The index measures perceptions of local job prospects, personal finances and immediate spending intentions of more than 30,000 consumers in 61 countries. A reading above 100 suggests optimism and below 100, pessimism.

The lower consumer confidence in the UAE is due to weaker oil prices and global macroeconomic factors, according to Arslan Ashraf, managing director of Nielsen for the Arabian Peninsula.

Ashraf said by email that he expects weaker consumer confidence to continue in the fourth quarter.

“We hope that the market scenario will improve in 2016 and the economic situation will align within the beginning of 2015,” he added.

According to the survey, UAE consumers’ personal finances sentiment fell by four percentage points to 60 per cent. Immediate spending intentions dropped by four percentage points too, at 43 per cent.

However, consumers’ sentiment about job prospects rose by three per cent compared to the second quarter to reach 65 per cent. Recessionary sentiment also increased, reaching 43 per cent from 41 per cent in the previous quarter.

Topping the list of discretionary purchase intentions in the country were paying off debts, credit cards or loans, which is a view shared by 26 per cent of consumers, as well as spending on holidays, new clothes and out-of-home entertainment. Nearly half of UAE consumers, at 44 per cent, said they planned to save their spare cash, a decrease compared to 48 per cent in the second quarter.

Saving intentions for investing in stocks and mutual funds edged down two percentage points from the previous quarter, at 14 per cent. Intentions of retirement savings also declined by one point to 13 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

Meanwhile, 13 per cent of consumers said that they did not have spare cash, a decrease compared to 14 per cent in the previous quarter.

Elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa region, consumer confidence also dropped in South Africa to 82 and in Pakistan to 101 in the third quarter.

However, confidence grew in Saudi Arabia by four points to reach 109 and by five points in Egypt to 90 in the same period.

Morocco, which was included in the survey for the first time this year, had a score of 85.