Spain's consumer confidence rises by 1.3 points in May

Spain's consumer confidence increased by 1.3 points from April to May to 103.1 points, indicating a positive perception of Spain's economic situation, according to data published on Wednesday by the Sociological Research Centre (CIS).

The Consumer Confidence Indicator (CCI) ranges between zero and 200 points, with ratings over 100 points considered as positive perceptions of the economic situation and ratings below that figure indicating a negative perception.

The CCI has surpassed the 100 points mark three times in a row and the rise in May was mainly due to an improvement in people's expectations for the future.

Meanwhile, the indicator for the economic situation in general and the labor market rose by 2.0 points in May to 114.6 points due to more optimistic opinions of households.

On the other hand, the indicator of the current economic situation rose by 0.6 points to 91.6 points.

Although consumers have more optimistic opinions about employment and the current economic situation in general, they have more pessimistic opinions about the current situation of households.

On a year-on-year basis, the CCI rose by 18.2 points, with the indicator of people's expectations about the future increasing by 17 points and the indicator of the current economic situation rising by 19.4 points.

The CIS informed that 31.3 percent of people surveyed believed the current economic situation was worse than six months ago, while 30.1 percent said it had improved.

Nearly 42 percent of them were optimistic and believed that Spain's economy would improve in the following six months, while 22.6 percent said it would get worse.

The CIS conducted more than 1,500 interviews for the CCI which helps forecast the evolution of the country's economy, taking into account consumers' behavior that directly affects domestic demand. Endit