Irish consumer sentiment improved for the second successive month in June, reversing most of the drop recorded following the start of the Iran war but remained well below the series' long-term average, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Survey climbed to 62.2 last month from 59.4 in May and a 40-month low of 53.3 in April following a sharp rise in fuel costs as a result of the Middle East conflict.
While the June reading was little changed from a year ago, sentiment has not hit the long-term survey average of 83.3 since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine also heaped pressures on energy prices and fuelled an inflationary wave.
Ireland's economy has still grown strongly during that time despite the downbeat mood among most consumers, including by 4.9% in 2025.
The improvement in sentiment in June was broadly based with four of the five main elements of the index posting month-on-month gain, with the exception of employment.
"The sentiment survey currently signals a concerned and, in many instances, cash-constrained Irish consumer," the survey's authors said.