Consumer confidence fell dramatically in July with the index registering minus 31 this month compared to minus 19 in June, reports the national statistics office CBS on Tuesday.

This is the second to largest fall ever recorded (the biggest was in September last year), says the CBS.
Reports of falling share prices, downward economic trends and the continuation of the credit crisis seem to be the main factors contributing to consumers’ negative mood says the statistics office.
Consumers are pessimistic about the economic situation in both the past and, more particularly, the coming 12 months. In June 39% of consumers were more pessimistic than optimistic about the coming year but a month later this had risen to 59%, says the CBS.
Meanwhile, the mood among businesses however remains positive although less enthusiastically so than at the beginning of the year, reports the statistics office.