FX.co ★ Finnish Consumers More Pessimistic In December, Industrial Sentiment Weakens

Consumers in Finland displayed increased pessimism in December, according to survey results released on Monday by Statistics Finland. Concurrently, insights from the Confederation of Finnish Industries indicated a slight decline in industrial confidence, which remains below the long-term average.

The consumer confidence index fell to -8.6 in December, down from -7.4 in November, substantially below the long-term average of -2.6. These findings were gathered from a sample of 1,270 individuals between December 1 and 16.

The report highlighted that consumers' perceptions of their current financial situation deteriorated in December. However, expectations for both personal and national economic conditions over the next 12 months remained largely unchanged and depressed.

Throughout December, households considered it an unfavorable period for purchasing durable goods, with intentions for spending on consumption dropping further. Inflation expectations were still notably high, and there was a marked pessimism regarding the general unemployment outlook in Finland.

The industrial confidence index decreased to -9.0 in December from -7.0 in November, as stated by the Federation of Finnish Industries, staying well beneath the historical average of 0. Anticipations for future production are modest, and the order backlog persistently remains below normal levels.

In the business sector, confidence weakened within construction, while retail trade saw an improvement in sentiment, and the services sector experienced relatively stable confidence levels.