UK consumer confidence improves in January but is still in negative territory

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 31, 2017

GfK’s long-running consumer confidence index showed a mixed picture in January amid growing concerns over the wider economic situation. The index increased two points in the first month of the year but still remained in negative territory at -5.

"Despite strong GDP and record FTSE highs, the combination of Brexit jitters, Blue Monday, and a wobbly pound pushing up prices contributed to keeping UK consumer confidence negative at -5 this month,” said GfK head of market dynamics Joe Staton.

The improvement was driven by consumers’ feelings about their personal finances. The index measuring changes in personal finances during the last 12 months increased by 3 points to +3, and the forecast for personal finances over the coming year rose 4 points to +7.

But consumers remain downbeat about the economy’s prospects. Looking back 12 months, the measure for the general economic situation stood at -24 points, and outlook for the 12 months remained at -23 points.

The major purchase index decreased two points in January to +10, but is still six points lower than this time last year.

Meanwhile, the savings index improved by three points to -2.