UK: Budget Concerns Affecting Confidence?

Confidence in their personal financial situation over the next 12 months increased by one point this month.

The ‘major purchase Index’ decreased by three points this month, and is now -24.



Nick Moon, MD of GfK NOP Social Research, comments:
"The ongoing debate around spending cuts and speculation around tax hikes in the lead-up to the emergency budget has done nothing to improve consumer confidence, which has continued to fall so that all the gains from December to February are now lost.

"Concerns about the fragility of the recovery and the potential for a double-dip recession may be exacerbated by the fall in confidence in the general economy. The outlook for major purchases has also dropped, which suggests the government cannot rely on consumers to fuel growth.”

UK Consumer Confidence Measures - June 2010
The overall index score this month dropped by one point to -19, six points higher than this time last year.

Four of the five measures this month decreased with confidence in personal finance over the next 12 months the only measure which improved. The annual moving average increased in June, and is now -18.
 


Personal Financial Situation
The index measuring changes in personal finances during the last year has decreased by one point this month to -14; this is four points higher than this time last year.

The forecast for personal finances over the next year increased by one point to a score of -2, this is three points lower than June ‘09.

General Economic Situation
The measure for the general economic situation of the country during the last twelve months has dropped by one point to –46; twenty seven points higher than this time last year.

An expectation for the general economic situation over the next twelve months has decreased by three points to -12, four points lower than June ‘09.

Climate for Major Purchases
The major purchases measure has dropped by three points this month to -24; two points higher than this time last year.

Savings Index
The ‘now is a good time to save’ Index, has increased one point to -4, which is eleven points higher than June ‘09.

About the GfK NOP Consumer Confidence survey
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London - 30 July 2010