Luxembourg shoppers stop spending as confidence cools

Luxembourg shoppers stop spending as confidence cools

Central Bank

Luxembourg central bank survey finds consumers less confident in August than at pandemic peak

Luxembourg consumers were less confident in August than at any point since the summer of 2020 as prices continued to soar following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the crisis in the cost of living intensified, the country’s central bank said. revealed on Wednesday.

After a gradual decline over the summer, the Luxembourg Central Bank’s consumer confidence index fell further in August, down 24 percentage points from a year ago, the report said.

People are much less likely to spend heavily in August than at the peak of the pandemic, according to the Luxembourg Central Bank’s latest research.

Prices for commodities such as fuel have skyrocketed since Russia launched its offensive on Ukraine, hitting record highs across Europe.

19 countries that use the euro currency Consumer prices rose 9.1% in August The EU’s official statistics agency, Eurostat, said on Wednesday that energy prices rose by 39% from a year ago.

With energy prices skyrocketing, EU countries have voluntarily agreed to cut gas consumption by 15% from August to March, as the European Commission announced earlier this week. emergency plan This is to keep electricity costs down.

Consumer expectations for the Luxembourg economy improved slightly compared to July and 4 percentage points better than in March shortly after the war began. However, the outlook in recent months has been far more pessimistic than last year.

The survey found that while people’s outlook had slightly improved since March, their perception of their financial situation was slightly worse in August than it was a month earlier.

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