Austria: Consumer confidence stable at multi-year high in March
The consumer confidence index, produced by Fessel-GfK, came in at 13 points in March, matching the previous month’s result. Subsequently, the sentiment survey remained well north of the crucial zero-point threshold separating optimism from pessimism among consumers in Austria.
The result, however, showed a somewhat mixed picture. Consumers expected their financial situations to improve in the next 12 months, but they held a less favorable view of the general economic situation in Austria in the same time frame. In addition, consumers were less optimistic when looking back at their financial situations and the general economic situation over the past 12 months. Their outlook on the labor market, however, improved, and they expected unemployment to fall over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, consumers were less likely to make major purchases and to save at present or in the next 12 months.