Irish consumer confidence held steady in February as reduced nervousness about the outlook for the Irish economy broadly offset ongoing concerns about household finances, research showed.
The KBC Bank Irish consumer sentiment index showed a marginal decline that does not suggest any statistically significant change in the mood of Irish consumers compared to January.
Roughly one in five of the consumers surveyed said that their financial circumstances improved in the past twelve months and (in responses to a separate question) a similar number envisage an improvement in the next twelve months.
According to the index almost 20% of the respondents reported a recent or expected weakening in their personal finances.
So, approximately 80% of Irish consumers don’t see buoyant Irish economic growth currently boosting their financial circumstances.
This broadly based sense of remoteness from reports of a booming economy is fostering a troubling undercurrent of ‘feel-bad’ in the mood of Irish consumers at present.
Other Markets
The stable Irish confidence outturn for February contrasted with more upbeat readings elsewhere
The research revealed a marginal improvement in the preliminary consumer sentiment reading for the US and a marked improvement in the corresponding figure for the EU's consumer confidence.
© 2020 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
