Consumer sentiment among Ukrainians improved in March. And not only because spring
4 April 2025 12:49
In March this year, the Consumer Confidence Index of Ukrainians increased by 8 points to 84.3 points compared to February. This is evidenced by the data of the Info Sapiens survey “Consumer confidence in Ukraine”, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The index of the current situation has increased and amounts to 60.5 points, which is 7.2 points higher than the level of this indicator in February.
The components of this index have undergone the following changes:
– Index of Current Personal Financial Standing increased by 8 p. and equals 54.6 p;
– Index of Propensity to Consume increased by 6.4 points to the level of 66.4.
In March, Index of Economic Expectations increased by 8.6 points and equals 100.2 points.
The dynamics of this index is as follows:
– Index of Expectations of Changes in Personal Financial Standing equals 95.3 points, which is 1.7 points higher than the indicator in February
– Index of Expectations of the Country’s Economic Development over the Next Year increased by 11.1 points and equals 87.9 points;
– Index of Expectations of the Country’s Economic Development over the Next 5 Years increased by 13 points compared to the previous month and equals 117.4 points.
In March, the indicator of Index of Expectations of Changes in Unemployment decreased by 4 points and equals 119.1 points.
Index of Inflationary Expectations increased by 1.7 points to the level of 183.1.
Index of Devaluation Expectations decreased by 10 points to the level of 148.4.
“In March 2025, we see a significant increase in both the Consumer Confidence Index and its components. The population of Ukraine is more positive about their current situation, this is the maximum value of the index for the last 2 years of observations,” Info Sapiens analysts emphasize.
Businesses also showed optimism in March
In March, the Index of Business Expectations crossed the neutral mark for the first time in 11 months and increased to 51.8, while in February it was 46.9. This conclusion is contained in the March survey of the National Bank of Enterprises of Ukraine
The improvement in expectations in all sectors was driven by robust consumer demand, increased production, international financial assistance, stabilized energy supply, and seasonal factors. Employment estimates also improved slightly.
At the same time, the intensified shelling of critical facilities, exchange rate and inflation expectations, and a shortage of skilled workers remained constraining factors.
Steady consumer demand, as well as a further increase in production, led to an improvement in the positive assessments of industrial companies about their current business activity.
Due to the seasonal factor, construction firms significantly improved their expectations for their performance.
Trade firms were the most optimistic among other sectors about their performance due to a sufficient supply of goods and stable domestic demand.
In March, service firms significantly softened their expectations, but still assessed their business activity the most cautiously among other sectors, given the shortage of skilled workers and rising production costs.
