UK consumer confidence waned in February, according to research company GfK, suggesting that the early optimism for 2024 has abated in the face of persistently high inflation.
The consumer confidence index, a leading indicator of consumer spending that measures people’s views of their personal finances and the state of the economy, fell to minus 21 in February from a two-year high of minus 19 in January. The reading followed three consecutive months of increases.
Driving the change were two-point month-on-month decreases in both consumers’ assessment of their personal financial situation and their views on the general economic situation in the past 12 months. These were probably driven by inflation remaining at 4 per cent in January, analysts said.