In January, the Central Bureau of Statistics' (CBS) consumer confidence indicator declined from December's minus 9.3 points to minus 10.0 points. The index remained firmly entrenched in negative territory, where it has been since the survey began in March 2011. January's drop was due largely to a sharp deterioration in consumers' outlook on unemployment and slightly weaker expectations on household savings. On the other hand, households' outlook on broader economic development improved notably, reaching the highest level since the launch of the survey. Meanwhile, consumers' view on their economic prospects remained upbeat and stable from a month earlier.
Meanwhile, business confidence also fell in January, declining to 21.1 points from 22.3 points.
FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect private consumption to grow 3.9% in 2018, which is up 0.1 percentage points from last month's forecast. Our panel expects private consumption to increase 3.3% in 2019. Panelists expect fixed investment growth of 5.9% in 2018, which is down 0.2 percentage points from last month's forecast. For 2019, our panel expects fixed investment to grow 4.8%.