a general view of a crowded street while retail reopens fully as coronavirus disease covid19 restrictions continue to ease after an extensive lockdown period in dublin ireland may 17 2021 reutersclodagh kilcoyne dublin june 23 reuters  irish consumer sentiment improved slightly in june after a rare four months of declines a survey showed on thursday but the authors said it was unclear if the increase was likely to be sustained the kbc bank ireland consumer sentiment index climbed to 577 in june from 555 in may the june figure matched the level registered in april but remained far short of the 2022 high of 819 hit in january and the series average of 864 at current levels sentiment is awful rather than apocalyptic suggesting the irish consumer is down but not entirely out kbc ireland chief economist austin hughes said the index had fallen each month between february and may as concerns around the cost of living continued to build and worries about a global recession intensified read more hughes said it was not yet clear what had triggered the improvement as there had been no clear easing in the forces that had darkened the mood of irish consumers it is possible consumers feel they are braced for the difficulties that lie ahead or are reacting to signs that supportive government measures are planned he said on the other hand it could be a largely technical and possibly shortlived improvement the survey found that 59 of people were reducing nonessential purchases while 37 were cutting back on essentials just 5 of consumers said they did not need to make adjustments