Albanian consumers' economic outlook pessimistic

Albanian consumer confidence indicator fell 3.9 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2014, following two quarters of improvement, Albanian Daily News reported on Friday according to data from Bank of Albania.

This fall reflected the worsening of the four constituents of the aggregate indicator, mainly the worsened balance of spending/income and major purchases. Expectations for Albania's financial and economic situation also made a negative contribution, albeit to a lesser extent.

Consumer expectations for unemployment in the next six months are pessimistic. Consumers also perceived an increased cost of living and worsened financial situation in 2014 Q4, whereas the balance of savings recorded the sharpest fall by 10 percentage points.

Expectations for inflation after one year increased to 1.8 percent in 2014 Q4, from 1.6 percent in the previous quarter, remaining however below the long-term average.

The overall economic situation worsened during 2014 Q4. Its respective balance fell around 1.5 percentage points. Businesses operating in the industry sector reported worsened economic activity of their firm during the quarter under review.

Domestic demand was assessed as downward in 2014 Q4, whereas external demand saw improvement. Their respective balances changed by -4.9 and +2.4 percentage points. Businesses reported a slight drop in prices of their products. Endit