UK consumers cheer up a bit as budget nerves lift, GfK survey shows

LONDON (Reuters) – British consumers have turned less pessimistic following the government’s first budget and the U.S. presidential election and they are showing more appetite for spending in the run-up to Christmas, according to a survey published on Friday.

The GfK Consumer Confidence Index, the longest-running measure of British consumer sentiment, rose to -18 in November, its highest since August and up from -21 in October which was its lowest since March.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a deterioration in the confidence indicator to -22.

Neil Bellamy, GfK’s consumer insights director, said consumers seemed to have moved past their nervousness in the run-up to the Oct. 30 budget and the Nov. 4 U.S. elections.

Finance minister Rachel Reeves announced a big increase in taxes on Oct. 30 but the burden fell mostly on businesses rather than individuals.

Bellamy said it was too soon to say a corner had been turned.

“As recent data shows, inflation has yet to be tamed, people are still feeling acute cost-of-living pressures, and it will take time for the UK’s new government to deliver on its promise of ‘change’,” he said.

All five of the five components of the GfK’s survey rose this month, led by a gauge of shoppers’ willingness to make expensive purchases which rose five point to -16.

The survey was conducted between Oct. 30 and Nov. 15 and was based on the responses of 2,001 people.

(Writing by William Schomberg, editing by Andy Bruce)