Consumer sentiment rose for the fourth month in a row in April as consumers continued to be less nervous about the country's economic prospects and their household finances.
The KBC Bank Ireland/ESRI consumer sentiment index rose to 62.5 in April from 60.6 in March.
The April gain marked the first time there has been a sequence of four monthly gains in a row since January 2007.
KBC said that at current levels, the sentiment index suggests Irish consumers are still cautious about the state of the economy and their personal finances.
KBC's chief economist Austin Hughes said the improvement in consumer sentiment did not appear to reflect a notably more positive view of current circumstances but instead it seemed that people are notably ''less fearful'' about more extreme downside risks to the economic outlook.
He said that while spending power is still severely constrained, a strong ''precautionary'' motive for postponing major decisions could begin to slowly fade as the threat of sharply poorer economic circumstances diminishes.
If the sort of economic tremors that repeatedly undermined confidence through the past couple of years can be avoided for the rest of 2012, the fear factor should ease further, he said.
''We remain a considerable distance from conditions in which a ''feel good factor'' might emerge but, in a still very uncertain world, a continuing easing in nervousness among Irish consumers is probably about as much as could reasonably be expected and should begin to underpin domestic spending,'' the economist said.
