Eurozone: consumers head into 2017 on a high note - ING

Bert Colijn, Senior Economist at ING points out that the Eurozone consumer confidence reading released today was the best number in 20 months but he warns that the survey was conducted before the Berlin terrorist attack. 

Key Quotes: 

“Consumer confidence increased from -6.1 to -5.1, beating expectations and defying mounting global uncertainty and higher fuel prices.”

“This improvement marks the strongest performance since April last year and is the third strongest since April 2007. It has to be said that the survey was conducted before the Berlin Christmas market attack, which may impact confidence in the final days of the year.”

“This release indicates that consumers head into 2017 on a high note, as expectations of unemployment have declined substantially over recent months and wage growth improved in the third quarter. Stock prices have also continued to increase on the back of Trump's victory in the US elections, providing further reason for cheer.”

“It is not as though the consumer has no reasons to worry either. The improvements in confidence come after mounting concern about Italy, where the referendum result has caused further political and economic uncertainty. Secondly, this optimism comes on the back of higher gasoline prices as the higher oil price has worked its way through to prices at the pump. That has not resulted in more concern for the Eurozone consumer, which is a positive for domestic demand in the final month of the year.”