Consumer confidence declines in May
Consumer confidence in the UK fell unexpectedly in May according to new figures.
GfK’s latest Consumer Confidence Barometer shows that the headline index declined by three points to 1 this month.
The research firm said almost all of the fieldwork for May’s index was conducted after the election when the Conservative Party won an unexpected majority.
Nick Moon, managing director of social research at GfK, said: “In the short term, this suggests that despite rewarding them with a majority in the House of Commons, the public are not too confident about economic life under the Conservatives.
“In the longer term, we seem to be in another of the periods of stasis that the Index goes through from time to time. Of the last 13 months, the Index has been within two points either side of 0 on all but three of them.”
While the forecast for personal finances over the next 12 months decreased by four points to 3, the index measuring expectations for the general economic situation over the next 12 months fell by six points to 0.
Meanwhile, the climate for major purchase index decreased by four points to 2. This is five points higher than the same time last year.
