Portugal: Consumer confidence ebbs, economic sentiment rises to over one-year high in October
Consumer confidence declined to minus 11.0 in October, following September’s minus 9.9. October’s result was dragged by households’ more pessimistic views on the economy in the next 12 months. This likely reflected the impact of looming political instability, culminating in the rejection of the 2022 draft budget on 27 October. Meanwhile, higher fuel and energy prices prompted households to become severely less upbeat about their future financial situation. Moreover, households also became more pessimistic regarding their financial situation in the last 12 months.
Meanwhile, the three-month moving average of the economic climate indicator clocked in at 2.0 in October, above 1.6 in September. Sentiment among firms in the services and trade sectors became significantly more optimistic, while sentiment in the construction sector became less pessimistic. Contrastingly, sentiment in the manufacturing sector became more pessimistic.