Irish consumer sentiment continues to improve, according to the latest IIB/ESRI survey. While confidence in many other economies has faltered in recent months, the survey has risen in seven of the last eight months.

The overall index stood at 84.2 in March, up from 82.0 in February. Roughly two-thirds of the responses were collected before the Madrid bombing of March 11th, so it will be the next index before a clear reading is taken on the impact of this on sentiment.

The improvement in the index last month followed a small reversal in February, which appeared to relate to reduced spending purchases following the end of the January sales.

However, last month the upward trend evident since the middle of last year resumed, mainly due to an improvement in expectations about future conditions.

The index of future expectations - one of the two sub-indices which make up the overall total - rose to 80.7, compared with 77.2 in February.

The main reason for this was improved perceptions of the outlook for the labour market and the economy as a whole.