The state-run statistics agency said its Current Consumer Confidence Index, which describes current trends in personal consumption, went down by 4 points in December, while remaining in negative territory of “minus 27.3” points amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Polish consumers surveyed this month were less positive about their spending power and financial prospects than a month earlier, and their evaluation of the economy also worsened from November, according to the Central Statistical Office.
Compared with December last year, the Current Consumer Confidence Index was 2.4 points lower, the statistical office said.
Meanwhile, the so-called Leading Consumer Confidence Index, which provides an insight into expected trends in personal consumption in the coming months, dropped 1.6 points in December from November, to “minus 19.7” points, the Central Statistical Office reported.
It added that most components of that indicator declined, including how consumers evaluate their saving prospects and the future financial situation of their households. Respondents were also less positive than a month earlier about the future condition of the economy.
The Leading Consumer Confidence Index was 4.5 points higher in December than in the same month of 2020, the office reported.
Both consumer confidence indicators take values from -100 to +100. A positive value means that optimistic attitudes prevail among consumers, while a negative value indicates a prevalence of pessimistic views.
The latest consumer sentiment study was conducted between December 6 and 15.
More than 82 percent of those surveyed said their responses were impacted by "the current epidemiological situation" in the country, the Central Statistical Office reported.
Officials have warned that the number of COVID-19 infections in the country could rise in the months ahead as the omicron variant of the coronavirus begins to spread more quickly.
The Polish central bank’s Monetary Policy Council in early December raised key interest rates for the third time this year in a bid to tame inflation.
Inflation in Poland stood at 7.8 percent in year-on-year terms in November, hitting the highest level this century, the country’s Central Statistical Office (GUS) said in a final estimate earlier this month.
In April last year, consumer sentiment in Poland plunged to its lowest level since 2004 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
(gs)
Source: PAP, stat.gov.pl