Irish consumer sentiment continued its steady recovery in May from its recent 14-year low as concerns about the increased cost of living eased a little more, a survey showed on Monday.
The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment index climbed to 62.4 in May from 59.2 in April.
That compares to September's low of 42.1 and the 77.0 recorded in February 2022, before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
'Fastest Growth'
Ireland's economy weakened late last year but still posted the fastest growth in the euro zone for 2022 and the finance ministry last month upgraded its growth forecasts for this year.
"Confidence is building slowly but surely, though current sentiment readings still signal fragile financial circumstances are weighing heavily on the mood of many Irish consumers," the survey's authors said in a statement.
Looking Ahead
The May sentiment survey also asked consumers whether they expected their spending to increase or decrease in coming months.
The responses suggest that very few consumers plan to step up their spending materially in coming months.
Only 3% of consumers signalled any intention to increase spending while 28% of consumers say their spending will be largely unchanged.
These results suggest that the majority of Irish consumers-some 63% of those surveyed, envisage further reductions in their spending in coming months.
The rationale for constrained spending varies markedly. The largest share, roughly one in four of all consumers (24% of survey participants) say that they will have to curtail spending to make ends meet.
Read More: Irish Consumer Sentiment Slipped Back Marginally In March
News by Reuters, additional reporting and edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more retail stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
