Analytics, Economics, Latvia, Society, Stability

Concerning the direction of change in the economic situation, people most often expressed the opinion that things are worsening. The bank's economic expert, Peteris Strautins, predicts, however, that following the surprises which came with the preparation of the 2010 budget, people may gradually start to become less pessimistic.

The only question where citizens were more optimistic than in the previous month was concerning predictions of families' material wellbeing, with 14% believing that this will have improved slightly a year from now, 4% points higher than last month. 37% believe that the situation will not have changed, 26 – that it will have slightly worsened, and 7% – that it will have significantly worsened.

Only 35% of citizens had noticed the deflation, with 25% believing that nothing has essentially changed, 19% being convinced that prices have risen, and 12% believing that they have risen significantly. Only 2% found that prices had fallen.

The majority (56%) of respondents expressed the opinion that deflation is quite positive or very positive, with 20% evaluating it negatively. 57% believe that prices were artificially raised a year ago to increase profits, but are now at an acceptable level.

Among food products, 53% of respondents believed that prices of dairy products had fallen, with 31 believing that fruit and vegetables had become less expensive, with the third most popular answer being bread and flour products.

Among non-food products, 33% believed that prices had fallen for household appliances, 23% – for furniture, and 22% – for construction supplies.

In terms of price changes over the next six months, 39% of respondents believe that they will not change, 27% believe they will grow, and 17% feel sure that they will fall.