Irish consumer sentiment weakened in June as concerns about job losses, inflation and interest rates dented confidence, according to the latest IIB/ESRI Consumer Sentiment Index.
The index slipped to 83.2 in June from 85.7 last month reversing May's improvement from a level of 83.0 in April.
While the Index is comfortably above the recent low of 78.5 in terms of its long term trend, sentiment is at levels that suggest Irish consumers are fairly downbeat about the economic outlook, IIB's chief economist Austin Hughes noted.
The most significant weakening in June appeared to relate to employment with the proportion of consumers who think unemployment will increase in the coming year rising to 58 per cent in June from 52 per cent in May, Mr Hughes said.
Presumably, this month's disappointing reading reflects a range of significant job loss announcements that included Eircom, Lapple Ireland, and Conor Medsystems, he said.
Consumers were also more negative about their household finances in June.
Mr Hughes said the improvement in this area in recent months might have been driven, at least in part, by the maturity of more than half a million SSIA's.
But the influence of this factor may now be fading with such monies either spent or committed to savings, he said.
Another factor in the weakening of confidence appeared to be prompted by another ECB interest rate rise in early June.
This was the eighth increase in borrowing costs since December 2005 and judging by the remarks made by ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet at the time there are probably more to come.
"The apparently endless sequence of increases in monthly loan repayments is undoubtedly having a major impact on the financial situation of many Irish householders," Mr Hughes said.