Consumers to keep ‘tight reins’ on Christmas spend

Spending this Christmas and New Year will be buoyant but will unlikely be much greater than year-ago levels, according to the latest survey by KBC Bank Ireland and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) of consumer plans, writes Eamon Quinn.

The survey found that consumer confidence dipped last month probably affected by the threat Brexit poses for the economy, as well as the rail dispute, even though households were more positive about their finances over the past year.