Home
Investment
News & Views
Company News
news storage
Improvement in UK consumer confidence may prove fleeting
Mon, 21 May, 2012
INVESTMENT NEWS
Company Search
Search QCK.COM
Investment Home
News & Views
Top Stories
Charting
Company Search
Watchlist
Market Reports
Market Buzz
Company News
Economic News
New Issues
Other News
Improvement in UK consumer confidence may prove fleeting
Tue, 31 Jan 2012, 09:52:00
Consultancy GFK's index of consumer confidence in the United Kingdom improved during the month of January to -29 points, versus -33 in December and -29 one year ago. GfK however is wary of reading too much into this one report. The consensus estimate was for a reading of -32. Similarly, despite the fact that several of the major sub-indexes improved when compared with last month, they are still below the levels seen in the same month of 2011. For example, consumers' expectations for the general economic situation over the next 12 months improved to -33 from -41 in December. In January 2011 this sub-index came in at -30. Even so, the index which measures the climate for major purchases has increased 9 points this month to -22; which is 7 points higher than this time last year. For Nick Moon, Managing Director of
GfK NOP Social Research
, "the four point improvement in the index this month is surprising in light of the fall in GDP and possible slide back into recession. However, despite this, a few rays of light have started to reach long-suffering consumers, including falling inflation and the recent reduction in energy prices. "(...) However, it's worth remembering that while the Royal Wedding last April triggered a sharp rise in consumer confidence, it dissipated completely within a few months. "Consumer confidence is still seriously depressed and we should treat this month's modest improvement with caution. Should February show another rise then we may be seeing signs that the gloom is dispelling - until then we should treat January's findings as good, but certainly not great, news." AB
©2004-2009 QCK.com