United Kingdom: Consumer confidence falls in October
The GfK’s consumer confidence index fell from minus 21 in September to minus 30 in October.
The reading was driven by consumers’ more pessimistic outlook regarding their personal financial conditions and general economic conditions, both now and in the future, as well as a reduced willingness to make major purchases. This data bodes poorly for private spending at the outset of Q4.
Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, said:
“The timing of the sharp drop in our major purchase measure – down 14 points – will concern retailers across the land in the run-up to Christmas. The volatility we are seeing in consumer confidence is a sure sign of a depressed economic mood and there’s no immediate prospect of any improvement.”