Consumers gloomier than ever in July

At -51, the consumer confidence indicator in July is positioned well below its long-term average over the past two decades (-9). The indicator reached an all-time high (36) in January 2000 while the all-time low (-51) was reached in July 2022. CBS has been measuring consumer confidence since April 1986.

Consumers never before so pessimistic about the economic climate

Consumers are slightly more pessimistic about the economy in July than they were in June. This component indicator stands at -71, compared to -69 in June. Consumers have not been so pessimistic about the economy since the beginning of the time series in 1986. They are gloomier about the economic situation over the past twelve months, but slightly less negative about the economy in the next twelve months.

Willingness to buy at historically low level

Consumers’ willingness to buy stands at -38, compared to -37 in June. This is also the lowest level ever recorded. Consumers are slightly more pessimistic about their financial situation in the next twelve months, while their opinions on the financial situation in the past twelve months are virtually the same as in June. They also find the time for making large purchases even more unfavourable than in the previous month. Never before have consumers been so negative about this as in July 2022.

More and more consumers classify price increases as sharp

In the monthly consumer survey, there are also questions that are not related to consumer confidence, about prices for example. In July, 79 percent of consumers have classified the price increases in the past year as sharp. This is the highest percentage since the beginning of the time series in 2017. However, the percentage expecting inflation to accelerate in the coming twelve months (25 percent) is lower than in the previous month (31 percent).