Austria: Consumer confidence falls back into pessimistic territory in September
Sentiment among Austrian consumers retreated to pessimistic territory at the close of the third quarter, with the consumer confidence index falling to minus 3.0 in September from August’s 0.0. This marked the lowest point since April.
The downtick came on the back of deteriorating views on households’ financial situation in the past year and less optimistic views on the financial situation in the year ahead. Moreover, attitudes towards the general economic climate in the next 12 months became less upbeat, amid potential tighter restrictions on the horizon—restrictions in Vienna were tightened on 1 October, and this could weigh on sentiment going forward as it could be expanded across the country. That said, views on the labor market improved.