Bank Hapoalim and TNS Teleseker reported on Sunday that Israel's consumer confidence index fell 4.2 points in April, following a rise of 0.9 point in March. The Consumer Confidence Indices are leading indicators than can predict the public’s consumption behavior.
In a press release Bank Hapoalim noted that: "We believe the decline in consumer confidence largely stems from a great concern about a certain decline in consumers' purchasing power due to planned tax rises in value added tax and other direct and indirect taxes,".
"The deterioration in consumer confidence the last month is particularly evident in the perception of the economic situation in the next six months." Israel's economy grew an estimated 3.2 percent in 2012 after a 4.6 percent pace in 2011.
Growth is forecast at 2.8 percent in 2013 excluding the start of natural gas production. The Consumer Confidence Index of Bank Hapoalim and TNS in Israel is based on a TNS Teleseker monthly poll covering a national sample of 1,000 respondents representing the vast majority of the adult (18+) population of Israel. The CCI index has been published in Israel since April 2002.
