Consumer expectations deteriorating

Consumer expectations showed detectable deterioration in March, while business expectations were also somewhat more pessimistic than before, according to a survey by GKI: Within the competitive sphere, expectations of the formerly relatively optimistic industry and services sectors were lower, whereas some improvement took place in the retail and construction sectors. A significant drop in the confidence index of the retail sector occurred in January, but has been slowly recovering since February. There was more optimism concerning orders in March, but average stocks were also higher than earlier. The consumer confidence index of GKI had stagnated in the first two months of 2008, but produced a detectable drop in March. Households were less optimistic about their financial prospects, compared to the preceding period. Short term savings were also down, while expectations regarding unemployment were also more pessimistic, than in February.