2012.07.2309:34:00UTC+00Slovenia Consumer Morale Improves Slightly In July

Slovenia's consumer confidence improved marginally in July, driven mainly by increased optimism among respondents about future unemployment, data released by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia showed Monday.

The consumer confidence index increased to -36 in July from -37 in June. Compared to July 2011, however, the index fell by 12 percentage points.

The sub-indicator that measures consumers' views of the unemployment situation in the coming 12 months decreased by 3 percentage points month-on-month in July, indicating a decline in the unemployment rate in the coming months.

The measure of households' perception of their personal finances over the past twelve months dropped to -41 in July from -40 in the previous month, while the gauge of respondents' expectations of their financial situation in the next twelve months decreased to -26 form -25.

Slovenian consumers were less down beat about the country's current financial situation, with the relevant indicator rising to -68 in July from -70 in June, and the measure of households' views of the future of the economy edged up to -37 from -38, data showed.