HELSINKI, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Finland's consumer confidence in July slid to a record low since 1995, the year when Statistics Finland started publishing the figures, the statistical agency said on Wednesday.
In July, all views on both consumers' own economy and Finland's economy were on a very pessimistic level, and expectations concerning consumers' personal economy were the gloomiest in measuring history, said Statistics Finland on its website.
The consumer confidence indicator (CCI) stood at -15.9 in July, decreasing from -14.3 in June and -11.6 in May. The indicator was 4.4 in July 2021.
About 75 percent of consumers held that Finland's economic situation is worse than a year ago, and 28 percent estimated the state of their own finances is worse than last year, according to the statistical agency.
"The COVID-19 pandemic had clear employment effects. The Russian attack caused inflation and interest rates to rise. In terms of inflation, the most visible has, of course, been the drastic increase in the prices of electricity, fuel and some foodstuffs, which directly affects consumers' finances," said Pertti Kangassalo, chief actuary at Statistics Finland.
Due to the pessimistic attitudes toward the country's economy and their own finances, Finnish consumers' purchase intentions decreased from the June level and even more drastically compared with a year ago. In July, 44 percent of consumers intended to cut spending on durable goods over the next year.
Kangassalo said that uncertainty caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict directly affects the Finnish economy, and the continuous rise in prices and interest rates seems to have discouraged spending.
Up to 84 percent of consumers believe that prices have risen "a lot" or "quite a lot" this year, and 69 percent expect that prices will continue to climb at least at the same rate in the coming months.
Meanwhile, confidence in industries also declined, according to a press release published by the Confederation of Finnish Industries also on Wednesday.
Finland's growth forecast for this year has been slashed from 3 percent to just over 1 percent, said Sami Pakarinen, director of the confederation.
Recent estimates show a significant slowdown of the Finnish economy and it is impossible to rule out recession, he said. ■
