CONSUMERS in Shanghai grew more confident about the city's economy in the third quarter of this year over the previous quarter, banking on the hope of continued stimulus policies and a successful transformation of the city's economic structure, a survey showed today.

The Shanghai Consumer Confidence Index rose to 106.7 points between July and September, up 1.5 points from the earlier quarter but still 2.7 points less than a year ago, according to the quarterly survey by the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

An index reading above 100 points indicates consumers are positive about the economy while a reading below that implies the opposite.

"Shanghai's economic performance in recent quarters has served as a shot in the arm,?said Xu Guoxiang, the research program leader and director of the university's Applied Statistics Research Center.

"Furthermore, China sticks to a relatively easy policy stance as the country has promised. It helps to strengthen people's confidence for a stable economic expansion."


Shanghai's gross domestic product increased 12.7 percent from a year earlier in the first half, after surging 15 percent in the first three months -- a strong comeback from the lows of single-digit growth last year.