2024-05-09 10:26:15
BOLZANO. Il climate of consumer confidence and of South Tyrolean consumers remained stable in April, with the related index standing at -5.6 points, down by just 0.5 points compared to the previous survey in January.
This is what emerges from a survey conducted by the Ire – Economic Research Institute of the Bolzano Chamber of Commerce. The slight decrease is due to worsening of assessments regarding the present and future financial situation of families, which are still affected by the increase in prices in recent months and high interest rates. A improvement instead involves expectations about the future performance of the local economy and the labor market, with consumers expecting a further slight decrease in the number of unemployed this year.
Finally, intentions to purchase durable goods, such as household appliances, furniture, etc., remain stable compared to the previous survey. In Europe, consumer confidence has shown a slight improvement in the last three months, with the index for the European Union (EU27) growing by 1.6 points in April compared to January. The current value, equal to -13.3 points, is however significantly lower than that observed in Alto Adige.
A more significant increase in confidence was observed in Germany and Austria, where the indices rose by 7.2 and 4.9 points respectively compared to January. In Italy, on the contrary, the climate of confidence decreased by 3.1 points compared to the winter. The President of the Chamber of Commerce, Michl Ebner, comments: «The confidence of South Tyrolean men and women remains stable and higher than the Italian and European average. Furthermore, the marked improvement in German and Austrian consumer confidence is a positive sign for our economy, since Germany and Austria are South Tyrol‘s main trading partners.”
The Ire measures the confidence climate of South Tyrolean consumers four times a year, in the months of January, April, July and October.
2024-05-09 10:26:15