Consumer confidence falls as political inactivity and Brexit continue to bite
Consumer confidence in Northern Ireland fell in the second quarter of 2019 as the lack of progress in resolving the local political stalemate and ongoing uncertainty around Brexit continued to weigh on sentiment.
The Danske Bank Northern Ireland Consumer Confidence Index fell to 136 in Q2 2019, down from 139 in the first quarter of the year but above the reading of 131 registered in the second quarter of 2018.
The main areas of concern for local people continue to be the lack of an Executive at Stormont, and Brexit. Thirty-nine per cent of people said that the fact we haven’t had a functioning devolved government in two and a half years was the issue that had the largest negative impact on how they were feeling. With regards to leaving the EU, 14 per cent of people stated that progress during the Brexit negotiations in recent months negatively impacted them and a further 10 per cent highlighted the UK Government’s longer-term Brexit objectives as the main factor that weighed on their confidence levels.
