Is consumer confidence in the UK economy starting to wane?
There is concern today regarding consumer confidence in the UK economy after the GfK NOP consumer confidence index was published for March. It shows that confidence in the UK fell to -15 in March against -14 in February amid hopes of a recovery to -13. While the reduction in confidence may be minimal on the surface, it is the very fact that people had been hoping to see an improvement in the UK economy at the turn of the year which is starting to eat away at consumer confidence.
It will be consumer confidence and consumer spending which will ultimately push the UK economy back into a growth phase although at this moment in time this scenario seems to be some way away. Only when consumers are confident that their jobs are secure, their income is secure and ultimately they can look forward to the future, will they begin to spend and inject confidence and money into the UK economy.
Until this time the UK economy and the UK business arena are effectively treading water and waiting for something to turn the tide and push the UK economy back into growth mode. It seems that consumers are also concerned about the ever-growing national debt, the very high budget deficit and infighting among political parties which could actually result in a hung parliament - a potential nightmare scenario for everybody!
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