The Consumer confidence indicator increased between May and July, after declining in the previous three months, significantly in March, and registering in April its lowest value since November 2023. This evolution was driven by positive contributions from expectations regarding the future evolution of the country’s economic situation, of households’ financial situation and of major purchases by households. In the opposite direction, opinions on the past evolution of households’ financial situation registered a negative contribution.
The balance of opinions on past price developments decreased in the last three months, after recording in April the highest rise since May 2008. The balance of expectations on future price developments declined between April and July, following increases in the previous three months, and reaching in March its highest level since March 2022.
The economic climate indicator decreased slightly in July, after having increased in the two previous months. The confidence indicators increased in Construction and Public Works and in Manufacturing Industry, having decreased in Trade and in Services.
The confidence indicator of Construction and Public Works increased in July, after having decreased in the previous month, reflecting the positive contributions of both components: opinions on current order books and perspectives on employment. In the Manufacturing Industry, the indicator also increased in July, albeit only slightly, after having stabilized in the previous month, driven only by the positive contribution of production expectations. Conversely, the Trade confidence indicator decreased in July, after having increased in the previous month, reflecting the negative contributions from assessments of the volume of sales and expectations for activity over the next three months. The confidence indicator of Services also decreased in July, after having increased in the previous two months, reflecting the negative contributions from opinions on the evolution of the order books and the perspectives on the evolution of demand.
In July, the entrepreneurs’ expectations regarding the future evolution of selling prices decreased in all sectors, namely, Trade, Manufacturing Industry, Services and Construction and Public Works.
