Current Polish Consumer Confidence Index Down in October

According to the state-run statistics agency, its Current Consumer Confidence Index, which describes current trends in personal consumption, went down by 4.8 points in October while remaining in the negative territory of -17.8 points amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Polish consumers surveyed this month were less optimistic about their spending power and financial prospects than a month earlier and evaluation of the economy also worsened from September, according to the Central Statistical Office.

Polish Consumers Index Updates:

In October 2020, the Current Consumer Confidence Index was 2.2 points higher, the statistical office said.

Meanwhile, the so-called Leading Polish Consumer Confidence Index, which provides an insight into expected trends in personal consumption in the coming months, dropped 6.4 points in October to -14.5 points, the Central Statistical Office reported.

In addition, all components of that indicator declined, including how consumers evaluate their saving prospects and the future financial situation of their households. Respondents were also less optimistic than a month earlier about the future level of unemployment.

The Leading Consumer Confidence Index was 4.7 points higher in October than in the same month of 2020, the office reported.

Both consumer confidence indicators take values from -100 to +100. A positive value means that optimistic attitudes prevail among consumers, while a negative value indicates a prevalence of pessimistic views.

The latest Polish consumer sentiment study was carried on between October 4 and 13.

More than 76 % of those surveyed said their responses were impacted by “the current epidemiological situation” in the country, the Central Statistical Office reported.

Officials have warned that the number of COVID-19 infections in the country could rise in the weeks ahead as the Delta variant of the coronavirus begins to spread more quickly.

Last week Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said that the number of daily Covid 19 infections had doubled in the country from a week earlier and that “drastic steps” could be necessary to counteract what he called an “explosion of the pandemic.”

In April last year, Polish consumer sentiment plunged to its lowest level since 2004 amid the coronavirus pandemic.