Eurozone Consumer Confidence: Euphoric environment has carried over into Q4 - ING

Bert Colijn, Senior Economist at ING pointed out that the Eurozone economy has remained in the sweet spot for the consumer and that moderate inflation, slightly improving wage growth and employment picking up make for buoyant Eurozone consumers.

Key Quotes: 

“Consumer confidence increased from -1.2 to -1 in October, indicating that the euphoric environment has carried over into the final quarter of 2017. Consumers have little to worry about at the moment. Even though the detailed breakdown of this month’s numbers have yet to be released, consumers indicated over recent months that their household financial situation has been improving and the amount of major purchases that households are making have jumped as well. This comes on the back of modest improvements in wages and moderate inflation. This is a positive sign for household consumption and we expect domestic demand to remain strong for the final quarter.”

“It seems that consumer confidence can remain around current elevated levels in the coming months. With employment expectations of businesses around decade-highs, it seems that the employment outlook for consumers remains bright. Inflation is expected to decline somewhat over the coming months because of energy base effects, meaning that the economy could remain in the sweet spot for the consumer for a while to come.”