CONSUMER confidence in Shanghai dropped to a nine-month low during the second quarter of this year due to a weaker domestic economy, fewer job opportunities and a sharp decline in the stock market, according to a survey yesterday.

The Index of Consumer Confidence shed 1.8 points from a year earlier to 103.2 in the three months ending in June, a study conducted by Shanghai University of Finance and Economics showed. A reading above 100 points to optimism.

The latest figure fell from 106.8 in the first quarter and 107.5 in the last quarter of 2012, indicating a continued loss of confidence among Shanghai consumers.

Xu Guoxiang, director of the university's Applied Statistics Research Center, said almost all component indices fell and urged more efforts to stabilize the economy.

"People show less confidence in the domestic economy, which has a huge impact on their willingness to spend," Xu said.

The component index revealed people's confidence in the economy fell 3.3 points from the previous quarter to 127.8. Following that, the index of conditions in the job market lost 13.1 points from the previous three months to 89.5 between April and June, the worst in four years.