An increase in the Bank and KANTAR consumer confidence index in February 2021

The consumer confidence index of Bank Hapoalim and KANTAR Telesker rose in February 2021 by 3.8 points to a level of 126.4 points (April 2002 = 100). The index for the current situation rose by 8.8 points and the expectations index fell by 0.2 points.

Bank Hapoalim economists: The government began to open up the economy gradually during the month of February, and this led to an improvement in the perception of the current state of households, and especially in the perception of the state of the labor market. The level of consumer confidence has risen in recent months, but is still lower than before the crisis.

The gradual opening of the economy led to a decrease in the unemployment rate in the first half of February to a level of 18.2%, and this probably continued in the second half of the month as well. The removal of the restrictions also led to an increase in credit card purchases, although not to a sharp jump as we saw in the exit from the first closure. Households’ private savings rates rose during the closure period, and we are expected to see a sharp increase in private consumption in the coming months, based on the accumulated savings. Consumption will, in our opinion, focus on services whose activities were not possible in closures such as hotels, restaurants and leisure and cultural services.