UK Confidence

Growing fears about economy in coming 12 months

GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index has decreased by five points this month to -8. All five of the measures in the Index saw decreases in November.

Joe Staton, Head of Market Dynamics at GfK, says:

“The slump across the board this month points to continuing uncertainty about the state of the economy among consumers. Although scores for our personal financial situation just about remain positive, the big theme is the reduced confidence in the UK economy looking back and ahead. We are viewing our economy over the past 12 months with increasing despondency. The decreasing score on the economy for the next 12 months also shows we are resolutely gloomy about the outlook despite strong GDP numbers. The ‘next 12 months’ figure has been low since the June vote to leave the EU as ongoing economic turmoil, inflationary pressures and global anxiety impact our levels of confidence. And is this gloomy mood also affecting spending intentions? Despite recent strong retail sales, we are reporting a sharp -9 point drop in the Major Purchase Index this month and this will be an acute concern for retailers as they gear-up for the key Christmas selling period. Many are saying that fears about the British economy have been overstated, but time will tell if the pessimism shown in the Index is misplaced or not.”