Consumer Confidence Collapses Yet Further
While it looked as though the figure for consumer confidence in June could get no worse, the figure for July has shocked many in the markets. A GfP NOP survey has highlighted the fact that consumer confidence has fallen to -39 points for July, a fall of 5 points from the June figure. This is now the lowest figure since the dark days of 1974 and lower than the figure for March 1990 - the last major recession in the UK.
The main fears, unsurprisingly, are the rise in fuel prices, the rise in energy prices, the general rise in the cost of living and new worries about employment stability. While all of these elements have contributed to the fall there is a growing concern for job security, something which could actually see the index fall yet more in August.
The survey also demonstrated that the UK population have never been so pessimistic about the prospects for the UK economy in recent time, something which will slowly seep into the confidence index. When you put these two indicators together the boom and bust scenario in the UK looks like being completed in the very near future.
We have gone from riding the crest of a wave just last year to the deep despair which is creeping into the UK population as we speak.
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