Portugal Consumer Confidence At 5-Month High, Retail Sales Fall 1.8%

(RTTNews) - Portugal's consumer confidence improved to the highest level in five months, as households' views towards the country's economic situation in the next year improved, survey data from Statistics Portugal showed on Monday.

The consumer confidence indicator rose to -35.4 in January from -37.1 in December.The index measuring consumers' expectations of the general economic situation of the country rose to -50.3 from -52.4.

Households' views on their own financial situation in the next twelve months improved in January, with the corresponding index falling marginally to -32.6 from -32.3 in December.

The manufacturing confidence index rose to -5.5 in January from -6.6 in the previous month, and the construction sector morale improved to -3.6 from -6.4.

The index reflecting the morale in the trade sector also strengthened to 3.2 from 1.2, and the confidence measure in the services sector rose notably to 7.0 from 3.9.

The economic climate indicator came in at 1.6 in January versus 1.3 in December.

Separate official data showed that retail sales fell at a faster rate of 1.8 percent in December, following a 0.9 percent fall in the previous month. 

During the fourth quarter, total retail sales decreased 0.7 percent versus a 4.4 percent rise in the third quarter.

During the year 2022, the rise in retail sales was 4.8 percent, which was slightly above the 4.5 percent gain in the prior month.

Another report showed that Portugal's exports logged a sharp annual growth of 16.0 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the corresponding period of 2021, and imports surged by 17.1 percent.