Consumer sentiment stands at its highest levels since the summer of 2010, after rising significantly for the second straight month. However, the improvement recorded in January may be due, at least in part, to the seasonal variation of the relevant index.
Consumer confidence has returned to the levels of early 2013, rising slightly relative to the previous month. In general, the relevant index has shown little movement during the current year. The reverting of optimism about the future of the economy to the levels of last October is the most important development, relative to November. Also noteworthy is the improvement in expectations regarding the course of inflation.
Consumer confidence shows a marginal decline relative to October. The slight deterioration seen this month is due to a sharp downturn in citizens’ optimism about the future of the Greek economy. Generally speaking, the movement of the relevant index since the beginning of the current year leads to the conclusion that the recovery observed in January 2013 lacks sufficient momentum to further improve consumer sentiment.
Consumer confidence shows little change relative to the preceding month. The relevant index in October confirms the conclusion drawn from previous ‘waves’, that the vigorous rebound of consumer confidence seen since the beginning of the year has indeed taken hold.
Consumer confidence showed an improvement relative to July. The rise observed in the current month may to some extent be due to seasonal variation of the respective index. In any event, the recovery seen since the beginning of the year appears to have taken hold, despite the sharp fluctuations caused by major political and economic shocks (developments in Cyprus, closure of state broadcaster ERT, withdrawal of Democratic Left from the three-party coalition government, etc.). But consumer confidence still remains at extremely low levels and citizens’ expectations for the future continue to be negative.
Consumer confidence deteriorated significantly in July relative to the previous month. The decline recorded in the current month is most probably due to recent political developments (closure of state broadcaster ERT, breakup of the ruling three-party coalition, government reshuffle), confirming the strong interaction between the consumer and the political climate. As things stand, it is not possible to forecast the course of consumer confidence, that is, whether the deterioration will prove to be conjunctural in nature or whether it marks the beginning of a reversal of the uptrend seen in recent months.
Consumer confidence is at its highest level since October 2010, rising slightly for the second consecutive month. The recovery seen since early 2013 appears to be firming, despite the shock dealt by developments in Cyprus in April. The improvement recorded in June is mainly due to an increase in positive expectations about the current economic situation.
Consumer confidence improved markedly in May relative to the previous month. The improvement observed in the current month confirms the assessment that the deterioration seen in April was mainly due to the impact of developments in Cyprus. At the same time, the recovery of consumer confidence, which began in early 2013, appears to be stabilizing, showing noteworthy resilience to conjunctural changes. However, this recovery does not appear strong enough to restore consumer confidence to pre-Memorandum levels.
Consumer confidence deteriorated in April, for the first time since last Autumn, possibly impacted by developments in Cyprus. However, in the present circumstances, a question remains about the significance of the decline recorded in the current month, namely, whether it marks the beginning of a reversal of the trend or constitutes a conjunctural development.
The main characteristic of the relative recovery seen since January is the cautious optimism expressed by citizens regarding the long-term outlook for the economy, in contrast with the extremely negative assessments of the current economic situation. However, despite the improvement in recent months, consumer confidence is still markedly lower than the levels recorded before the signing of the Memorandum.