Consumer confidence has improved slightly in June, according to a new Credit Union Index.
It shows there is more easing of concerns around household finances, with signs food and energy price inflation may have peaked.
Recent good weather may also have boosted the mood of some consumers.
The index increased to 63.7 in June from 62.4 in May.
However, the modest scale of the monthly gain suggests 'financial clouds' are still hanging heavily over many households.
The general tone of the survey suggests that although concerns are easing, they are far from over.
Consumers are still cautious about their own financial circumstances and the broader economic outlook.
A reported pull-back in household spending also emphasises that cost-of-living pressures remain a key concern for many.
"This marginal gain suggests no major change in thinking this month and might best be regarded as signalling an ongoing, albeit limited, easing in the cost-of-living concerns that depressed sentiment and drove the index to a 14 year low of 42.1 as recently as September 2022," the survey said.
"The small improvement in the Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Survey in June reflected gains in three of the five elements of the sentiment index offset by declines in the other two".
While the June sentiment survey period also saw some high-profile redundancy announcements, consumer thinking on the health of the Irish jobs market appears to have been bolstered by a stream of new job announcements and exceptionally strong official data.
Numbers at work in the first quarter of 2023 were reported to be 103,000 higher than a year earlier - and the unemployment rate for May was estimated at 3.8%: the lowest number in 35 years of monthly jobless data.
Economist Austin Hughes said other factors may have also boosted people's mood.
"Consumer sentiment rose slightly between May and June," he said.
"I think there's a couple of elements contributed: one is that there were widespread reports of price cuts by some supermarkets.
"There was also a slight easing in inflation; and I think a final element could well have been the exceptionally good weather we've had," he added.
