Finance
UK consumer confidence touches 4-month high in December, GfK survey shows
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 13, 2024
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Global Banking and Finance Review is an online platform offering news, analysis, and opinion on the latest trends, developments, and innovations in the banking and finance industry worldwide. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 13, 2024
(Reuters) - British consumer morale hit a four-month high in December as households grew cheerier about their finances, a survey showed on Friday, in good news for finance minister Rachel Reeves after other indicators showed a post-budget slide in business sentiment.
The monthly consumer confidence index from market research firm GfK rose to -17 in December from -18 in November, the highest reading since August. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to an unchanged reading.
GfK's measures of past and future financial confidence also rose to four-month highs, while the other components - economic confidence and major purchase intentions - were steady.
Overall the readings added to signs that consumers remain relatively confident about the outlook, in contrast to a sharp dip in business confidence after Reeves' Oct. 30 budget imposed sharp tax increases on employers.
A separate YouGov/Cebr survey published on Wednesday showed consumer confidence ticked higher this month, despite a drop in perceived job security.
Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at NIQ GfK, said consumers were still uncertain about making big-ticket purchases and highlighted consumers' relatively weak confidence about the overall economy compared to their own finances.
"We will need to see robust improvements in these perceptions of the economy before we can start talking about sustained improvements in the consumer mood," Bellamy said.
Most forecasters think Reeves' budget will temporarily improve Britain's economic growth rate next year, although recent data - such as retail sales - has disappointed of late. Gross domestic product data for October is due at 0700 GMT.
The GfK survey of 2,015 people was conducted between Nov. 28 and Dec. 9.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)