Olympic success fails to lift financially cautious Irish consumer

Consumer sentiment in Ireland weakened slightly in August, pointing to “caution rather than gloom” about the economy and ongoing cost-of-living issues, the latest Credit Union sentiment survey indicated.
The barometer’s main index fell to 72 in August, down from a July reading of 74.9. The August decline was the first since May and followed significant improvements in both June and July.
It coincided with Ireland’s “very successful” Olympic Games earlier in the month which as the report notes did not produce “a pronounced feel-good factor”.
“In the context of the old Roman adage, it seems that Irish consumers are much more concerned with bread than with circuses,” said author Austin Hughes.
He described the softening in sentiment in August as relatively modest, linking it “to worries about higher energy bills in coming months as well as back-to-school costs followed by Christmas spending pressures”.
The weaker sentiment was also linked to recent turmoil in financial markets linked to fears of a US recession coupled with high-profile tech sector job lay-offs.
Chip giant Intel has announced plans to trim its global headcount by 15 per cent. The cutbacks will include an unspecified number of job losses in the Republic.
David Malone, chief executive of the Irish League of Credit Unions, said: ‘’The slight drop in sentiment in August chimes with the anxiety facing many parents in relation to back-to-school costs. It’s likely that consumers also have an eye towards higher energy usage costs in the months ahead as well as extra spending pressures in the lead in to Christmas.”
This month’s survey also contained a question about whether consumers thought 2024 was better or worse in financial terms than they had expected.
One in five consumers say their household finances were better than they expected at the start of the year, while one in three consumers say they are worse than expected. The survey noted that those aged 45-64, those on lower incomes and woman respondents were “more likely to be disappointed”.