Almost two out of every three Spaniards believe that the economy will not improve in the coming months
The confidence of Spanish consumers has decreased during February 1.4 points compared to the previous month, reaching 71.6 points, according to data published this Monday by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS). With the drop, this indicator puts an end to three consecutive months of increases, which caused January to close at 73 points.
In the last 365 days – from February 2022 to February 2023 – this index has plummeted more than 18 points. “This reduction is due to the decline in the assessment of the current situation in the last year and the decline in future expectations“explains the CIS.
From the data provided by the survey carried out by the organization directed by José Félix Tezanos, a clear consumer distrust in the Spanish economy, marked by the growing inflation that mainly affects the price of food, which It currently stands at 15.4% year-on-yearmatching the October index, the highest since the series began in January 1994.
In fact, Almost half of consumers (49.4%) consider that the economic situation of their household is worse than six months ago and the majority (73.3%) point to rising prices as the main culprit; while for more than a third (36.4%) it remains the same.
In this context, pessimism seems to have prevailed and almost two out of three Spaniards believe that the economy will not improve in the immediate future: For 52.9% it will get worse and 12.1% think it will remain the same in the following six months.
In this sense, 32.4% of consumers believe that their domestic economy will suffer during the next half year compared to 40.1% who predict no changes. On the other hand, 40.2% predict that their savings possibilities during the next year will be reduced.
Regarding the rise in food prices, 48% of Spaniards assure that they will continue to rise during the following year. Regarding interest rates, 66.2% maintain that they will continue to rise.
In terms of housing, 55.1% affirm that the cost of houses will continue to riseso 90% have declared that they do not plan to buy an apartment in the next year.
He Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) It collects a monthly evaluation of the recent evolution and expectations of Spanish consumers related to the family economy and employment, with the aim of anticipating their consumption decisions. The indicator collects values between 0 and 200, considering that above 100 the perception is positive and below it, negative.
