UK GfK Consumer Confidence

Consumer confidence edged higher in both the United Kingdom and Ireland in May, but the improvements are doing little to disguise the underlying fragility of household sentiment on either side of the Irish Sea, with the Iran conflict and its associated energy shock continuing to cast a long shadow. In the UK, GfK's monthly confidence index rose to -23 from -25 in April. The April reading had been the lowest since October 2023 and was widely attributed to anxieties around the Iran war. May's recovery beat market expectations by a ...

Confidence among UK consumers has improved but remains fragile in the face of expected petrol price rises amid escalating conflict in the Middle East, according to a leading index. The latest snapshot from the data company GfK says sentiment improved by two points in June but remained in negative territory at -18, well below the -12 of a year ago. A reading above zero indicates optimism; below indicates pessimism. The last time the headline index, which is closely watched by the government and the Bank of England, was positive was in ...

British consumer confidence fell to the lowest level since March as concerns about possible tax hikes dented sentiment in the lead-up to the new government’s first budget next week, a long-running survey showed on Friday. Market research firm GfK’s consumer confidence survey edged down to -21 in October from -20 in September – the lowest since March when the previous Conservative government delivered its last budget. Friday’s figure was in line with the median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. “As the budget statement looms, ...

U.K. consumers felt no less pessimistic this month as concerns on the economy linger, despite signs of more dynamic business activity and higher summer spending. Confidence, gauged in a barometer published Friday by research group GfK, was unchanged at minus-13, thwarting economists' expectations for a slight increase to minus 12. Consumers were more optimistic about their personal financial situation over the coming year, likely reflecting a pickup in real incomes as inflation eases and wage growth remains perky, as well as August' ...

Confidence among U.K. consumers rose a little in May, with easing inflation and the expectation of falling Bank of England interest rates set to boost Britons' spending power. Research group GfK's consumer-confidence barometer climbed for a second straight month to minus-17 in May, from minus-19 in April, in line with economists' expectations in a Wall Street Journal poll. The news comes after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday called a general election for July 4, citing the recent economic recovery in recent months as a major ...

UK consumer confidence slipped back in February, suggesting households are not ready to splash out despite growing signs that the economy has emerged from its shallow recession. GfK said its key sentiment indicator dropped 2 percentage points to minus 21, ending a three-month run of improvements. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a reading of minus 18 on average. Client Strategy Director Joe Staton described the findings as a “mixture of bad news and good news.” Most measures fell on the month — including a gauge of ...

UK consumer confidence climbed to the highest level in two years in January as slowing inflation made households more optimistic about their finances. GfK Ltd. said its measure of sentiment increased 3 points to minus 19, the highest level since January 2022. Confidence is still weak by historical standards as the reading remains below the 10-year average of minus 15. Household views of their financial prospects turned neutral, after 24 months of negative scores, the market researcher said Friday. All of its indicators improved this ...