Consumer sentiment dips amid prospect of higher energy bills

Reuters

Consumer sentiment dipped in August as the prospect of higher energy bills and back-to-school costs weighed, a survey showed on Thursday.

The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment index reading was 72.0 in August, down from 74.9 in July. It is the first monthly decline since May and follows significant improvements in both June and July.

In a statement, the survey's authors said the reading did not suggest a major change in Irish consumer thinking and that grocery price inflation and recent increases in fuel prices could be weighing on sentiment.

"More immediately, back-to-school costs loom large while the increasingly long build-up to Christmas spending demands is not far away," they said.