One-third of households 'just making ends meet'

The number of households saying they are "just making ends meet" has increased since the start of the year, rising to one-third in Bank of Ireland's latest Consumer Pulse from one in four at the start of the year.

In June, the Consumer Pulse noted its joint second-lowest reading as inflation batters consumer sentiment.

Meanwhile, the Business Pulse showed mixed results, with the industry, retail and construction sectors seeing increased activity while the services sector took a hit after five months of successive gains.

Almost 90 per cent of businesses said non-labour input costs have jumped over the past three months, however, the number of firms expecting to increase their selling price in the near-term eased to 62 per cent.

Three in five firms also said it is difficult to predict the future development of their business situation at present.

Regionally, sentiment among both consumers and businesses was down in Dublin and Munster, while Leinster (excluding Dublin) remained largely unchanged in the April-June period compared to March-May. Connacht/Ulster was the only region to note an increase in sentiment, rising by 1.3 points.