Irish consumer and business sentiment improves Written by Robert McHugh, on 29th Dec 2020. Posted in Financial Bank of Ireland has released its latest Economic Pulse survey which is conducted by Ipsos MRBI on behalf of Bank of Ireland with 1,000 households and approximately 2,000 businesses on a range of topics including the economy, their financial situation, spending plans, house price expectations and business activity. The Pulse came in at 70.2 in December 2020. The index, which combines the results of the Consumer and Business Pulses, was up 3.2 on last month but down 12.8 on a year ago.
The backdrop to this month’s survey was mixed – the fieldwork was being out carried out as the country exited a six week period of Level 5 restrictions and as plans for the rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine were being drawn up; but also as the Brexit transition period neared its end date with no clarity on the nature of the future EU-UK trading relationship. So while the former lifted the spirits of households and firms, the latter tempered the bounce in confidence.