Consumer confidence plummeting, survey finds

CONSUMER confidence fell to a record low last month as increases in food, fuel and borrowing took their toll.

The latest IIB Bank/ESRI consumer sentiment index dropped to 42.2 in June, the lowest level since the survey began in 1996, from 48.8 a month earlier.

IIB Bank chief economist, Austin Hughes said the drop in consumer sentiment was mirrored in similarly weak readings in most other countries.