There has been a slight easing in the mood of consumers, but households remain cash-strapped and cautious as they respond to the brutal cost-of-living rises.

Consumer sentiment rose fractionally this month, the fourth improvement in the Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index in the past five months.

The modest rise hints that consumers may have moved past “peak fear” in relation to concerns around cost-of-living pressures and the threat of much weaker economic conditions, the compilers of the index said.

But there is no sense from the answers to the survey that the pressures have ended, said economist Austin Hughes, who oversees the compiling of the index.

He said the sentiment survey signals that consumers remain cautious and constrained in their spending power.

“While we previously suggested the sentiment survey was signalling an element of resilience through last year that hinted Irish consumers were down but not out, we would interpret recent readings as suggesting consumers feel their concerns may be easing, but are far from over,” he said.

The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 55.6 in February from 55.2 in January. An increase of this magnitude does not suggest any material change in the mood of Irish consumers this month, the economist said.

He said the marginal pick-up in confidence may hint at an underlying improvement that likely comes from some modest easing in concerns around cost-of-living pressures.

Mr Hughes said the “peak fears” sparked by the war in  Ukraine may be slowly unwinding, one year after Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

A special question, asked as part of the survey, found that one in four consumers still have Covid savings that they have set aside for a rainy-day emergency. Another 10pc have savings aside for a long-term purposes.

This month’s reading is well below that of a year ago when the index stood at 77. It is also well below the average reading of 85.6 for the index’s 27-year history.