The index fell by three percentage points in July from the month before, but it is still two percentage points above the July 2017 value.

A report from the Statistics Office shows the index was depressed by pessimism about savings options (-6 points) and dampened expectations about financial state of their households (-4 points).

Compared to the month before, consumers are also less optimistic about the state of the national economy (-3 points), while their expectations about jobs improved by a point.

The year-on-year improvement was driven by greater optimism about the financial state of their households and savings with both sub-indices up by 3 points, as well as more upbeat sentiment about the state of the national economy (+2 points). The outlook for jobs remains level.

Consumers' expectations about purchasing a new car or home improved from April, while the outlook for home renovation weakened. Just over 10% of those surveyed are thinking about buying a car over the next 12 months and 3% plan to buy a flat. Some 21% plan to refurbish their home.