VALLETTA - As Black Friday ushers in the 2024 Christmas shopping season, consumers across Europe are spending cautiously on holiday gifts, amid a sluggish economic recovery and declining consumer confidence.

"All prices have gone to the sky, and my pension has been symbolically increased," said Croatian pensioner Miso Ciliga, adding that he would spend no more or even less than last year during Christmas and the New Year.

He also expressed concern that the US announcements about imposing tariffs could worsen Europe's economic situation, adversely affecting the lives of its people. "It will only get worse," he told Xinhua.

Although inflation in Europe has declined significantly, upward pressure persists. The eurozone's annual inflation rate for November is expected to hit 2.3 percent, up from 2 percent in October, according to a flash estimate by Eurostat.

"I am already buying Christmas presents and want to make use of some discounts that I saw in shops, but I will be careful not to spend too much money today," Alenka, a student at the University of Ljubljana, told Xinhua while shopping in a large commercial center in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana on Black Friday. Most prices have increased significantly compared to last year, she said.

In Europe, consumer confidence is waning, while household saving rates are on the rise. According to Eurostat, the euro area's household savings climbed to 15.7 percent in the second quarter of 2024, up from 15.2 percent in the previous quarter.

In Germany, consumer confidence is projected to decline from November's negative 18.4 to negative 23.3 points in December, according to the latest Consumer Climate report published by GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM). This indicates that Germans are preparing to tighten their belts rather than boost private consumption.

"Consumer uncertainty has increased again recently, as evidenced by the rising willingness to save," NIM's consumer expert Rolf Buerkl said in the report. He added: "In short, the consumer climate remains poor."

French households are also losing confidence in their future finances. According to the French statistics office INSEE, household consumer confidence decreased to 90 points in November from 93 in October, and remains below its long-term average of 100. French households expect sharp price rises and a financial decline over the next 12 months.

Slovakia is experiencing a similar decline in consumer confidence. According to the country's statistical office, consumer confidence dropped by 1.5 points to negative 20.5 last month, the lowest level in 15 months. Consumer pessimism was evident in three out of the four components of the indicator in November.

Due to the economic situation, this year nearly two-thirds of Romanian consumers will allocate the same budget for holiday shopping as in 2023, while almost 20 percent will spend less, according to the 2024 holiday shopping report conducted online in September and October via the apps owned by marketing service providers ShopFully and Offerista.

The report noted that this year's holidays across Europe are being influenced by consumers' economic concerns, directly impacting their year-end spending.

The European Commission's Autumn Economic Forecast expected gross domestic product in the European Union (EU) to grow 0.9 percent in 2024, and 0.8 percent in the eurozone. In 2025, economic activity is forecast to accelerate to 1.5 percent in the EU, and 1.3 percent in the eurozone.

European economy's sluggish recovery is hindered by structural challenges and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, experts warned.