Economies of European Union member states seem to slowly return to growth while consumers hope the economic crisis will finally come to an end this year, according to a recent GfK study.

The EU consumer climate index reflects this trend, gaining 0.8 points in the first quarter of the year.

On the other hand, in Romania the situation is different. Here, consumers don’t anticipate an improvement, according to GfK.

Overall, the consumer sentiment hasn’t changed too much in early-2014. The expectations regarding the economic situation currently stand at -17.2 points. In December last year, the figure stood at -14 points, while a year before it was at -13.6 points.

The income expectations also show a similar situation, the indicator currently standing at -8.2 points. This is a slight improvement against December, of 0.7 points.

The desire to purchase currently stands at -13.8 points, representing a slight increase of 1.7 points when compared to December.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com