Consumer confidence in Spain rose in September to 98.3 points, the highest figure since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest monthly index published this Tuesday by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS). With this increase, the index resumed its increases after the July and August break due to uncertainty about the evolution of coronavirus infections.
The data improves by 6.7 points compared to the previous month and reaches levels not seen since the summer of 2019, before the onslaught of the health emergency. The difference and improvement over the previous months is abysmal. In fact, the 98.3 points this September means that the index is almost double that of a year before (49.5 points).
Similar levels were reached in June (97.5), but then the increase in infections and the threat of the main tourist-issuing markets to Spain to tighten the restrictions stopped the euphoria. Then it was questioned whether mass vaccination alone would be enough to contain the advance of the coronavirus. Finally, with the passing of the months, the situation has improved ostensibly and now a new normal seems to be resuming that boosts consumption and reactivates travel, which remarkably cheers the confidence of consumers and also of companies, many of them them in a critical financial situation due to the duration of the pandemic and its restrictions.
Three factors
As for the index of valuation of the current situation, in September it rose to 83.1 points, with an increase of 5.2 points in relation to that recorded last August. “This increase is due to the evolution of three factors: the assessment of the current economic situation, which has risen 7.6 points compared to the previous month; the valuation of the labor market, which improves 8.3 points, and in the case of the valuation of the situation of households there is a slight loss of 0.3 points in the last month ”, the CIS explains in a statement.
For its part, the expectations index has also improved in the past month and reached 113.4 points, which represents an increase of 8.2 points compared to August. This shows that the economic rebound of the summer will not be temporary, but that it will be able to be maintained in time towards the end of the year. Everything will depend, yes, on the evolution of the pandemic in the coming months.
The commercial and hospitality sector is optimistic for the coming months, although they remain very cautious given the unpredictability of the evolution of the health emergency. Despite this, they foresee a very favorable end of the year, even at pre-crisis levels or higher. “We hope to have a good Christmas, in historical figures, if nothing happens to break the current dynamics regarding the pandemic,” said Carlos Pérez, president of the Restoration Brands association, on Tuesday at the organized Horeca Day. by Aecoc.