Insight: consumer confidence rises in August
New figures have shown that UK consumer confidence rebounded in August following last month’s decline as people felt a little more confident about the general economic situation.
The data from GfK’s longstanding Consumer Confidence Index reveals that the overall index score rose by two points to -10.
Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK, said: “We’re seeing an uptick in August among consumers when reviewing their personal financial situation for both the past and next 12 months, as well as a slight improvement in views about the general economic situation of the country as a whole.”
The measure for the forecast for personal finances over the next 12 months rose by three points to 5 this month while the measure for expectations for the general economic situation over the same period increased by one point to -27.
Meanwhile, the major purchase index rose by one point to 0. This is seven points lower than August 2016.
Staton added: “These figures must be seen against the backdrop of better news on inflation, public finances, jobs and growth prospects as the UK economy displays some signs of stability after a volatile start to the year. However, the index has a lot of ground to regain to get back to black. So is this month’s rise significant? Or could we simply be witnessing a dead-cat-bounce over the dog-days of summer?”
