UK consumer confidence falls at fastest rate since Covid as cost of living bites
Source: The Guardian ·
Economic fallout from war in Middle East adds to pressures on consumers and on chancellor before budgetConsumer confidence in the UK has fallen at the fastest rate outside the Covid pandemic since the 2016 Brexit vote as the escalating economic damage from the war in the Middle East hits Britain.With less than a week before John Healey’s first budget, the latest barometer from the data company…
From the source
Consumer confidence in the UK has fallen at the fastest rate outside the Covid pandemic since the 2016 Brexit vote as the escalating economic damage from the war in the Middle East hits Britain. With less than a week before John Healey’s first budget, the latest barometer from the data company GfK indicated confidence plunged by 11 percentage points in October to -24 amid pressure on consumers from the rising cost of living. Highlighting the challenge for Andy Burnham and his chancellor before the statement on Wednesday, GfK said its consumer confidence index last fell by this much in a single month in July 2016, following the shock leave result in the EU referendum. The index – which has been closely tracked by the government and the Bank of England for early warning signs from the economy since the early 1970s – recorded its largest ever fall, of 25 points, in March 2020 just after the start of the first UK lockdown. The latest snapshot represents a marked change from the summer,…