Confidence back for Irish consumers and businesses after Brexit shock

Irish consumers and businesses have clawed back some of the confidence lost in the immediate aftermath of Britain’s vote to leave the EU in June, new data shows, with a third of households now expecting their financial situation to improve over the course of the next 12 months.

Bank of Ireland’s latest monthly ‘economic pulse’ index, just published, shows a reading of 93.7 points for August, 2.5 points up on July’s reading and a recovery of a quarter of the ground lost last month.

A pick-up in confidence amongst firms in the retail and construction sectors drove the improvement in business sentiment, while the consumer ‘pulse’ was aided by households becoming more positive regarding their outlook on the economy and the jobs market.