Consumer confidence of Ukrainians in October 2018 decreased to the level of early 2018, and the downward trend touched all indexes, apart from devaluation expectations. According to the materials of the monthly study of GfK Ukraine, the consumer confidence index (CCI) equaled 56.9 in October 2018, which is 5.7 points lower than the indicator in September 2018 and 5.7 points higher than in October 2017.
GfK Ukraine said that index of expectations of the country’s economic development over the next year decreased by 9.7 points and equaled 52.9.
Index of expectations of the country’s economic development over the next five years also decreased and equaled 64.3, which is 7.2 points lower than the indicator in September.
In general, in October, index of economic expectations (ІЕE) decreased by 6.6 points to the level of 57.5.
Index of propensity to consume decreased by 6.2 points and reached the indicator of 65.3, GfK Ukraine said.
Index of the current situation (ICS) decreased by 4.5 points and equaled 56.
Index of expected changes in personal financial standing decreased by 2.8 points comparing to the previous month and equaled 55.1.
In October, the expectations of Ukrainians regarding the possibility of unemployment have slightly worsened: the indicator of index of expectations of changes in unemployment equaled 136.2 that is 2.3 higher than the indicator in the previous month.
Meanwhile, index of inflationary expectations has remained mostly unchanged 190.3, which is 0.1 points lower than in the previous month.
“At the same time, the consumers corrected the devaluation expectations: the index of devaluation expectations decreased after its sharp growth in August-September,” the authors of the study said, adding that index of devaluation expectations decreased by 8.1 points and reached the level of 162.2.
GfK Ukraine has been surveying households to determine consumer confidence in Ukraine since June 2000. Some 1,000 respondents are polled.
More than a million Ukrainians have taken advantage of the visa-free regime with the EU since the introduction of a simplified system in June 2017. “More than a million Ukrainians have already taken advantage of the visa-free regime with the countries of the European Union since June 2017,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko wrote on his Facebook page.
The press service of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service, in turn, noted that a significant increase in passenger traffic to the European Union countries was associated with the beginning of the tourist season and vacations. In addition, from July to September every year, European countries note the demand for attendance by entrants and students of their educational institutions.
As reported, 500,000 trips of Ukrainians to the European Union were recorded in mid-May 2018.
In general, there are a great number of people going to the EU by air. About 35% of Ukrainians currently choose air travel to the EU. Poland is also a popular destination for crossing the border by road. The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians get into the EU countries through the border with this country.
Three quarters (76%) of respondents surveyed by Rating Sociological Group say the country is headed in the wrong direction. According to the results of the study, which was presented on Tuesday at the press center of the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency, 13% of respondents believe that things are going in the right direction in the country, and 11% had difficulty answering the question.
At the same time, residents of the central and western regions express relatively less pessimism, while attitudes were more critical in Ukraine’s southern regions.
Almost two-thirds (60%) of the Ukrainians interviewed spoke about the worsening economic situation of their families over the past six months, another 30% said that there are no changes, and only 8% said that their families have improved their economic situation over the period.
The war in eastern Ukraine remains the most important state problem in the eyes of the majority of citizens (78%). Only 55% of those polled complained about bribery and corruption as a nation-wide problem
More than half of respondents are personally concerned about the increase in prices and tariffs, as well as the low level of salaries and pensions. Issues of war in the east, low level of medical services and a lack of good jobs are personal problems for every fifth person.
The survey was conducted on June 14-24, 2018 among 2,500 Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older through a formalized interview (face-to-face). The sample is representative of age, sex, region, and type of settlement. The margin of error of the survey does not exceed 2%
