Will consumers front load purchases fearing rate hikes?

New Delhi: Customers, especially in retail verticals could be having a feel of future run expected in interest rates, and might be front loading their purchases in days to come giving a fillip to consumer demands in select niche areas, said SBI Research in a report.

The sector-wise data for April indicated that credit off-take has happened in almost all sectors. Personal loans segment continued to perform well, registering an acceleration in growth to 14.7 per cent in April 2022 and contributed around 90 per cent of the incremental credit during the month, primarily driven by housing, vehicle loans and other personal loans segments, the report said on Tuesday.

The omicron fuelled days brought the bleak memories from last year. Spike in caseloads in select developed economies scared the psyche, the scars of past coming to the fore.

Businesses were caught unawares and due to shortages of essential commodities as well as specialised essentials like chips kept the expectations low.

Against that backdrop, the report said that the GDP numbers did not disappoint much and it inspired the market.

India's gross domestic product during fiscal year 2021-22 is estimated at 8.7 per cent as compared to a contraction of 6.6 per cent in the year 2020-21, official data showed.

The GDP grew 4.1 per cent year on year in Q4FY22 as against 1.6 per cent during the same quarter of FY21.

By far, trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting are the only sectors which are still not out of the woods post the pandemic.

The report said these sectors will reach or cross the pre-andemic levels by Q1FY23.

The global economic outlook is marred with downside risks due to the ongoing geopolitical upheaval and its impact on trade, output and prices.

Sharp increase in most commodity prices, significant tightening of financial conditions due to frontloaded monetary policy actions and high inflation are posing financial stability concerns.

"The World Economic Outlook (WEO) has cut its global growth forecast for 2022 relative to its January 2022 projection by 0.8 percentage points to 3.6 per cent. China's economy remained deep in a slump in May as lockdowns continued to weigh on activity. The downward revision is sharper for emerging markets and developing economies than for advanced economies," the report added.