Monday saw Nielsen Co declaring that, in the second quarter, UAE consumer confidence hiked; however, spending habits were affected due to concerns over job security and the state of the economy.

It was forwarded by Nielsen that out of a possible 200 points, consumer confidence in the Gulf state rose 4 points to 93 in June. During the last survey conducted in March, the confidence was at 89. However, the points were still down from the 110 points in the second half of 2008.

Via a statement, Piyush Mathur, regional managing director of Nielsen, said: "Consumer confidence reached a record low in March but, three months later, UAE consumers are starting to embrace the idea of recovery."

The company specified that the survey, which covered 28 countries, including India, Brazil, New Zealand, South Korea, Australia, the U.S. and the UK, ranked UAE as the seventh most optimistic country.