An index which measures how consumers feel about the economy reached its highest level for 18 months in October.
The consumer sentiment index, compiled by KBC Bank and the ESRI, climbed from 49.6 in September to 54.2. This was the highest level since April last year.
The ESRI's David Duffy said the rise was mainly due to an improvement in consumers' expectations about the future. The index which measures how people feel about the coming months rose from 34.4 in September to 40.4, while the index of current conditions showed a more modest rise, from 72.3 to 74.7.
KBC economist Austin Hughes said the rise in the index was surprisingly strong. He said the survey hinted that Irish consumers believed the worst may now be behind us.
The economist said the main factors in the improvement were signs of a pick-up in the world economy, falls in consumer prices and expectations that interest rates would remain low for some time. But he warned that - despite the October increase - the index figure remained relatively weak in historic terms.
