Greek Consumer Confidence Picks Up Marginally in December

Syntagma Square, Athens © Maria Theofanopoulou

Greek consumer confidence appears to have picked up slightly in December after five months of continuous decline due to  Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, according to the Foundation of Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE).

More specifically, according to the influential think tank’s latest bulletin, the economic climate index strengthened marginally in December at 91.5 points against to 91.0 points in November 2020 driven by the improvement of expectations in industry.

According to the IOBE, the decision to allow the operation of retail and the implementation of alternative forms of sales, including telephone orders or click away, slightly revived the market, but mitigated “only a small part of the usual turnover during the holiday season and only among certain categories of goods”.

IOBE analysts expect recently announced support measures to “partially” ease the effects of the pandemic, but note that these cannot replace the normal operation of the market in the medium term. 

The think tank stresses that policies introduced in the coming period must focus instead on helping businesses adapt to the new conditions.

IOBE forecasts slow activity will continue in retail and services but consumer confidence and household forecasts for the country’s financial situation are improving. So are forecasts for household financial situation and additionally there is also a stronger intention to save.