By Ed Frankl
Consumer confidence in the U.K. dipped in October as the high cost of living meant respondents shied away from big purchases ahead of the key Christmas season, according to a survey published Friday.
Confidence among British consumers dropped nine points on month to minus 30 this month, according to an index compiled by consumer-research firm GfK.
October’s reading returns the index to where it was in July, after September’s level had climbed to minus 21, the highest point since January 2022.
“The fierce headwinds of meeting the accelerating costs of heating our homes, filling our petrol tanks, coping with surging mortgage and rental rates, a slowing jobs market and now the uncertainties posed by conflict in the Middle East, are all contributing to this growing unease,” Joe Staton, client-strategy director at GfK, said.
All of the five components that make up the index dropped in October.
The major-purchases measure fell 14 points, which will concern retailers in the run-up to the Christmas shopping period, according to Staton.
Fears about the U.K. economy led the measure for the economic situation over the next 12 months to drop eight points to minus 32, while for personal finances over the same period it sank to minus 8 from minus 2.
“The volatility we are seeing in consumer confidence is a sure sign of a depressed economic mood and there’s no immediate prospect of any improvement,” Staton added.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-19-23 1940ET
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