UK consumer confidence has continued to fall in May, despite an increase of two points from last month.
GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index showed that the overarching category rose to -1.
The Index also recorded an unchanged score of 7 when it came to forecasting personal finances over the next 12 months, however expectations for the general economic situation over the next year rose by a point to -13. This result is 13 points lower year-on-year. It is likely that this was spurred by the current economic and political uncertainty surrounding the Brexit referendum.
Nonetheless, the major purchase index surprisingly rose by four points to nine, seven points higher than in may 2015.
“Despite May‘s brave attempt at a recovery with the overall Consumer Confidence Index rising two points from April, we remain in the gloomy world of negative territory this month at -1″ said Joe Staton, Head of Market Dynamics at GfK.
“Optimists will point to the fact our views on personal finances and our willingness to make major purchases are all up on last year. Perhaps this shows consumers are more confident over areas where they have more direct control. But pessimists will emphasise that the music is different when it comes to the general economic situation.
“Despite the tiny uptick this month, our confidence in economic matters, whether we look back or ahead 12 months, remains way below last year. Is it because the Brexit gremlins are hard at work? Almost certainly yes. How will that all change when the EU referendum has taken place on June 23rd? We all wish we knew the answer to that question.”
