In July 2019, the total consumer confidence indicator increases by 0.8 percentage points compared to its level 3 months ago, which is due entirely to the increased confidence among the urban population, the National Statistical Institute reported.

The consumers’ total assessment of the development of the economic situation in the country over the last 12 months marks certain improvement - an increase of the balance indicator by 2.6 percentage points. At the same time, their forecasts over the next 12 months are more favourable in comparison with the previous survey.

As regards the financial situation of the households both the assessments and expectations of the urban population slightly improve, while the opinions of living in the villages are slightly more negative. The prevailing part of the consumers consider that over the last 12 months there has been slightly increase of the consumer prices, as their inflation expectations are preserved for the next 12 months.

Concerning the unemployment in the country, the forecasts are for certain reduction of personnel over the next 12 months, as according to the rural population, it is going to be with higher rate. In July, the majority of the consumers continue to assess the economic situation in the country as unfavourable for saving although their relative share decreases compared to 3 months ago. However, the last inquiry registers slightly more positive attitude of the urban population’ intentions about making expenditures on major purchases of durable goods and ‘buying or building a home (vila)’ over the next 12 months.

The survey is a part of the harmonized program of European Union for business and consumer surveys and it is representative for the population of 16 years and older.

The persons of 16 years and older are the object of the survey; the sample method is random, clustered, proportional to the population by regions, incl. urban/rural inhabitants (154 clusters with 8 persons per cluster). The interviewing method is face to face. The questionnaire contains standardized questions about the financial situation of households, general economic situation, inflation, unemployment, saving, intentions of making major purchases on durable goods or purchasing/building a home or buying a car. The proposed variants of answers give an opportunity to arrange them from optimistic, through neutral to pessimistic. The balance of opinions is calculated as a difference between relative shares of positive opinions and relative shares of negative opinions, as there is one specification: the strong positive opinions and the strong negative opinions are given a coefficient of 1, and the more moderate positive and negative opinions - a coefficient of 0.5.

The survey results are used to capture the direction of change of surveyed variables incl. that of the consumer confidence level, which gives an opportunity to analyze the tendencies in the development of public opinions on significant economic phenomena. The consumer confidence indicator is an arithmetic mean of the balances of the expectations about the development over the next 12 months of the financial situation of households, general economic situation, savings and unemployment, as the last is taken with a negative sign.