Consumer confidence falls in February

UK consumer confidence dropped two points in February to -21, according to GfK’s long-running index. The survey revealed that four measures were down and one was unchanged in comparison to last month’s announcement. The index measuring changes in personal finances during the last year was down two points at -14. The measure for the general economic situation of the country during the last 12 months was also down two points at -43. Additionally, the survey revealed that the forecast about personal finances remained unchanged with a value of 0. Meanwhile, the forecast for the overall UK economy declined by three points to -24. However, the forecast for personal finances over the next 12 months is still 18 points higher than this time last year, while expectations for the general economy is 19 points better than last February. The major purchase index is down seven points to -25, this is 12 points higher than this month last year. Lastly, the savings index was up two points to 29 and is 10 points higher than this time last year. Joe Staton, client strategy director GfK, said: “There’s a mixture of bad news and good news for February. The bad news is that the improvement in the Overall Index Score seen over recent months stalled slightly in February due to a fall across most measures. However, the good news is that optimism for our personal financial situation for the next 12 months has not slipped back. “Although registering again at zero, this is a significant improvement on the -18 score from February last year. This metric is key to understanding the financial mood of the nation because confident householders are more likely to spend despite the cost-of-living crisis. Looking forward, it will be interesting to see what the forthcoming Budget delivers in terms of taxation and inflation.” Staton added: “These are important issues to everyone – especially in an election year. The recent performance of the economy will play a crucial role in determining results at the ballot box. All the measures this February are better than a year ago, but consumer confidence alone will not carry us into a brighter economic future.”