United Kingdom: Consumer pessimism grows in April
The GfK NOP consumer confidence indicator fell from minus 7 points in March to minus 9 points in April. As such, the index remains firmly entrenched in negative territory, where it has been since April 2016, highlighting that consumers are still broadly pessimistic.
April’s downtick reflected consumers’ worsened views of their personal financial situation over the previous 12 months and for the year ahead. In addition, consumers grew more pessimistic concerning the general economic situation in the United Kingdom over the last 12 months and for the year ahead. Nevertheless, consumers still became marginally more willing to make major purchases in April.
Commenting on the figures, Joe Staton, Client Strategy Director at GfK, said: “Despite the headline news proclaiming that UK wages rose faster than inflation, no imminent interest rate rise on the horizon, and record high levels of employment, the Index continues to bump along stubbornly in negative territory.”