The results of the Byblos Bank/AUB Consumer Confidence Index for the fourth quarter of 2017 show that the Index increased by 3.2% in October from the preceding month, improved by 10.9% in November and declined by 3.1% in December 2017. The Index averaged 61.8 in the fourth quarter of the year compared to an average of 58.4 in the third quarter of 2017 and of 50.4 in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Household sentiment in the fourth quarter of 2017 was influenced by the sudden resignation of Prime Minster Saad Hariri in early November. The shock resignation triggered a political crisis that reverberated across Lebanon, as the massive flow of rumors about the circumstances and consequences of the resignation weighed on household sentiment in the first three weeks of the month and risked a significant slide in the Index.

But the resolution of the crisis towards the end of November 2017, as well as Lebanon's renewed commitment to the “dissociation policy” from regional conflicts, eased the political crisis and economic uncertainties that prevailed during the month. Further, the November 2017 results captured the sentiment registered during the resolution of the crisis, rather than at the height of the rumors and uncertainties, given that the Byblos Bank/AUB Consumer Confidence Index's survey takes place at the end of each month.