Irish consumers remain cautiously optimistic about the future, but the current soft patch is damaging confidence in the short term, a survey reveals today.
The IIB/ESRI consumer sentiment index for April fell to 97.3 from 104.2 in March. The latest reading means that consumer sentiment has been fairly flat since the end of 2004.
However economists believe that consumers are not necessarily downbeat and a spending spree is still on the cards once the SSIA money matures.
According to Austin Hughes of IIB, consumers are in wait-and-see mode as the global economic growth stutters due to high oil prices.
Although the Irish economy is weathering the current soft patch better than other economies, Irish consumers are not feeling the effects in their pockets just yet, Mr Hughes added.
Mr Hughes pointed out that despite the current plateau, underlying consumer sentiment is showing a gradual improvement and, in the absence of a severe shock, should improve as the year goes on.