Consumer sentiment stages a rebound

Consumer sentiment rebounded from a weak December last month, with new data indicating that people are less fearful of measures included in the recent budget than first thought.

Highlighting the unpredictable mood of the Irish consumer at present, January’s edition of the KBC Bank Ireland/ESRI consumer sentiment index — published yesterday — registered a reading of 64.2 points.

While still down on the long-term average of 86.1 points, January’s reading totally wiped out the heavy fall seen in December. That month’s budget announcement resulted in the index falling from 63.8 points to 49.8 points.