HELSINKI, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Consumer confidence in Finland declined in May this year after a four-month upswing, according to the latest data released by Statistics Finland on Monday.
The consumer confidence indicator stood at -8.8 in May; in April, it was -7.9, in March -10.8; -11.9 in February, and -12.7 in January 2023.
The statistical agency said the long-term average for the consumer confidence indicator is -2.2.
In May this year, consumers' expectations of both their own finances and the Finnish economy clearly improved from a year before, but weakened slightly compared to April.
According to Statistics Finland, 34 percent of consumers in Finland estimated that the state of their own finances in May was weaker than a year earlier, while 68 percent of consumers believed that the economic situation in the country is now worse than a year ago.
Regarding inflation, around 90 percent of consumers in Finland thought prices had risen "a lot", or "quite a lot" in one year.
In May, Finnish consumers considered that it was highly unfavorable to buy durable goods this year, and did not intend to buy them next year either.
Henna Mikkonen, chief economist at the Savings Bank Group of Finland, said on Twitter that although consumer confidence is still low, it has risen since last winter. Despite soaring inflation, more than half of Finns are now able to save, she said.
However, the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) said in its monthly assessment on Monday that confidence among Finnish companies had not improved in May.
There was a downward trend in the service sector, although improvements were seen within the construction industry, according to EK. ■