FX.co ★ Finland Consumers More Gloomy In April, Business Morale Weakens

Survey figures from Statistics Finland revealed that Finnish consumers adopted a more pessimistic stance in April. In tandem, separate data from the Confederation of Finnish Industries disclosed a continuing weakening in industrial sentiment entering the second quarter.

In April, the consumer confidence index fell to -12.6, a decrease from March's -9.4. This score is well beneath the long-term average of -2.5. Between April 1 and 18, data was gathered from 1,211 individuals.

Views from households regarding Finland's economic outlook for the subsequent year were bleak. Consumers had particularly low outlooks about their current personal economies.

Intentions for purchases, especially those of durable goods, were generally low as households still considered the current time unfavorable for such purchases. Additionally, plans to spend money on automotive or housing remained restrained.

The survey indicated a slight, yet fairly sustained decrease in households' worries about consumer price inflation over the next year. Collective expectations regarding Finland's unemployment rate remained somber, with 58% of consumers believing it would increase.

The industrial confidence index plunged to -17 in April, down from -13 in March, according to the Federation of Finnish Industries. This current confidence level is significantly below the long-term average of +1.

Only the construction sector signaled an increase in April across all main sectors. The survey indicated that production is expected to decrease in the upcoming months, while order backlogs have continuously been diminishing.