06 Sep 10

Consumer Confidence: August Update

Here are the key points for this month:

• Consumer Confidence has increased by four point to -18, rising for the first time since February.
• This was driven by an increase in all metrics except for "Climate for Major Purchase" which fell by four points.
• The largest increase was seen in "Confidence in the Economy Over the Next 12 Months" which rose eleven points. However this gain merely reverses a similarly large drop in July and in reality levels are still low.
• It's too early to say whether this overall gain shows a change in trend or a momentary blip, but it could be a sign that the UK may be able to avoid a double dip recession.