Finance
UK consumers turn more wary as economic worries mount, GfK says
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 19, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 19, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
UK consumer confidence drops to -19 in September amid rising economic concerns and potential tax hikes, GfK survey reveals.
LONDON (Reuters) -Britons became more gloomy this month and the prospect of tax increases in finance minister Rachel Reeves' budget in November threatens to damage confidence levels further, a survey showed on Friday.
Market research firm GfK said its consumer confidence index sank to -19 in September from -17 in August which had been its highest since December, and slightly below the -18 forecast in a Reuters poll.
Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, said all five measures of confidence dipped this month and a separate gauge of savings intention fell sharply.
An index measuring sentiment about the economic outlook now stands at -32, way down from -11 in June last year, shortly before Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party won a parliamentary election.
"With tax rises expected in the November budget, the risk is that confidence inevitably falls," Bellamy said.
Reeves is expected to raise taxes in her annual fiscal statement on November 26 in order to remain on course to meet her budget targets, having ordered employers to pay higher social security contributions in October last year.
The GfK survey was based on a poll of 2,003 individuals conducted between September 1 and September 11.
(Writing by William Schomberg; editing by Suban Abdulla)
The GfK consumer confidence index fell to -19 in September from -17 in August, which had been its highest since December.
Factors include the expectation of tax increases in the upcoming budget and a significant drop in the index measuring sentiment about the economic outlook.
The GfK survey was based on a poll of 2,003 individuals conducted between September 1 and September 11.
The index measuring sentiment about the economic outlook now stands at -32, a significant drop from -11 in June of the previous year.
Rachel Reeves is expected to raise taxes in her annual fiscal statement on November 26 to meet her budget targets.
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