A Chinese consumer confidence index rose in the second quarter.
The measure increased to 109 from 108 in the previous three months, according to a statement released by Nielsen Co and the Chinese statistics bureau's Economic Monitoring and Analysis Center in Beijing on Thursday. The survey is of 3,500 people.
Confidence continued to strengthen in rural areas as government measures boosted investment and farmers' incomes, according to the statement. Urban dwellers' confidence and willingness to spend weakened as consumers expected higher prices, especially for food, it said.
"Increasing consumer prices and also stock market volatility are two of a number of factors that appear to be affecting consumers' attitudes in this latest quarter," Mitch Barns, Nielsen's Greater China president, said in the statement.
