Key insights
- Irish consumer sentiment declined to a 3-year low, signaling potential economic headwinds. While the pace of decline slowed, the report highlights concerns about the impact of the Middle East conflict on inflation and economic growth. This could indirectly influence US markets through broader European economic weakness and global risk sentiment, but the impact is expected to be limited.
DUBLIN, April 28 (Reuters) - Irish consumer sentiment fell for a second successive month in April, but the pace of decline was smaller than the previous month as households started to better manage the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Survey dropped to 53.3 in April, its lowest level since December 2022, from 56.7 in March.
But the 3.4 point fall was much smaller than the 8.5 point decline in March and the cumulative two-month decline was also smaller than that seen a year ago in response to U.S. tariff threats.
"While the current survey reading suggests Irish consumers are bracing themselves for tougher times ahead, they are not in total despair about the financial conditions they face at present," the survey’s authors wrote.
Ireland’s finance ministry last week cut its growth forecast for the economy to between 1.5% and 2.1% this year, depending on how severe the inflationary impact from the Middle East conflict turns out to be.