Consumers likely to be swayed by Brexit talks

Household spending in the next few months will likely be influenced by whether the Brexit talks get off to a good or bad start.

A survey by KBC Bank and the Economic and Social Research Institute has reported a slight pick-up in confidence this month, even though “strains” on household budgets were still weighing on sentiment.

The latest reading marks some sort of recovery from February’s sharp decline and suggests that consumers are feeling less “bad” about their financial prospects. Unemployment has fallen over the past year.