Consumer confidence rose in Estonia in July, despite weakening business sentiment in the construction and trade sectors, according to Statistics Estonia.
As the statistics body noted, the consumer confidence indicator rose to -26.1 in July, which was ‘somewhat better’ than the previous month.
‘At the same time, consumers’ assessments of the financial situation of their household and of the general economic situation improved, both at present and over the next 12 months, it added. ‘The biggest increase was in consumers’ assessment of their ability to make major purchases.’
Business confidence
Business confidence remained strongest in the trade sector, with the indicator standing at +10.5, however traders have become more cautious about sales prospects over the next three months, Statistics Estonia said.
Confidence in the services sector stood at +6.5, while the industrial sector recorded a broadly neutral reading of +0.3, indicating relatively stable business conditions.
The construction sector remained the weakest-performing part of the economy, with a confidence indicator of -14.6.
‘As in the previous month, construction enterprises consider insufficient demand to be the main factor limiting construction activity,’ it noted. ‘In addition, compared with June, there has been an increase in the share of enterprises which expect that the number of employees at their enterprise will decrease over the next three months.’
HICP increase
Separate data from Statistics Estonia indicated that the harmonised index of consumer prices rose by 0.5% in July, compared with the previous month. On a year-on-year basis, meanwhile, the HICP was up 2%.
“According to the preliminary data, the biggest impact on the July index came from higher housing costs as well as accommodation and food services,” commented Mark Herman Ilumets, analyst in consumer price statistics at Statistics Estonia. Read more here and here.
