MNI INTERVIEW: Rising Prices Spooking UK Consumer-GFK's Staton
UK confidence is at lower levels than in the pandemic or the financial crisis, GfK's index shows.
The worst readings in the data series established in 1974 were to be found in sub-measures, he said, with the index for the general economy over the past year at -63 and at -56 for the coming year, both down from April’s levels and significantly lower than in May 2021.
DEPRESSED REAL EARNINGS
Consumer price inflation running at almost 10%, driven by soaring food and fuel bills, is cutting into real earnings, weighing on household finances and dragging confidence lower despite unemployment at a 50-year low, with vacancies outnumbering job seekers.
"Consumer confidence is now weaker than in the darkest days of the global banking crisis, the impact of Brexit on the economy, or the Covid shutdown," Staton said.
The personal financial situation index for the next 12 months, one of Staton's preferred indicators of sentiment, showed a very modest one-point improvement on the April reading, but still sits at a very depressed -25. A year ago, the index was at +10.
