Growth in consumer confidence stalls over global economy concerns

The GfK consumer confidence index dipped by one point to +2 in October as three of the five measures used to calculate the index decreased and one remained unchanged.

Confidence in the general economy over the last 12 months and upcoming year both dropped, while consumers’ willingness to make a major purchase plunged.

The only measure to increase was respondents’ confidence in their personal financial situation over the last 12 months.

GfK head of market dynamics Joe Staton said: “While belief in our personal financial situation for the next 12 months remains strong, growth in the top-line index has again stalled this month.

”The good news on the domestic front – with households lifted by wage growth, low interest rates and near-zero inflation – is being tempered by concerns about our ability to shrug off the global downturn.

“Upwards momentum in the index is also being dragged down by consumer worries about the past performance of the UK economy and expectations for the economy in the year to come.

“However, despite this month’s slip, the overall index score has remained positive over 2015 in marked contrast to the lows reached between mid-2007 and early 2014 during the depths of the recent economic cycle.”