Consumer mood on the rise
צילום: אלי שמעוני
Consumer mood index hits all-time high
Israelis optimistic as index hits 146.8 points
The combination of the holidays, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s stabilizing position within the Likud, and possibly also the surging local stock market pushed the consumer mood index to an all-time high in October, indicating a surge of economic optimism across the nation.
The index recorded a significant 4.7 point rise compared to the previous month, hitting 146.8 points. Notably, in October of last year the consumer mood spiraled downwards, hitting only 106.8 points. However, October last year came after the holiday season, as opposed to this year.
The data for the latest index figures were collected in the last week of September, immediately after the Likud Central Committee rejected the proposal to bring the primaries forward.
Meanwhile, the food consumption index also hit an all-time high – 133 points – compared to 119 point in September of last year (the holiday season) and 89 points in October of last year.
The index is calculated by the Rotem institute for Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.
“There is no doubt that the holiday season and dynamics of this month…where people go out to eat at restaurants and work less contributed to the national food festival,” Rotem Institute Director Arieh Rotem said, but noted this was the first time Rosh Hashana was celebrated in such close proximity to the date of the data collection, a fact that may have boosted the results.
