Good news with the consumer confidence data this month. With GfK reporting a figure of -19 the indicator rose to the levels seen in Jan 2022 when the rapid decline to -49 was underway.
This is how Gfk reported the data:
“The GfK Consumer Confidence indicator in the United Kingdom rose to -19 in April 2024 from -21 in March, improving for the first time in three months and coming in above market expectations of -20. The overall index has been bouncing between -24 and -19 for the last six months, indicating slow progress as economic uncertainties weighed heavily, although it is a vast improvement compared to last year when the overall index score stood at -30. Four of the five measures that make up GfK’s Consumer Confidence indicator rose in April, with the index for personal financial situation over the next 12 months being the sole measure in positive figures. Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, said: “Consumer confidence can be a very slow-moving creature and the past six months underline that. At least there’s an air of forgiveness with consumers delivering softer verdicts on how they look back at the past year regarding their personal finances and the wider economy.“. source: GfK Group”
The forecast is for the figures to improve to -10 in the start of 2025. I do wonder, as the growing political bickering intensifies, how this will impact on individuals and businesses and the way they report their levels of confidence.
History repeats itself every election, with talk about political battles, incompetent leaders on all sides, poor budgeting and doomsayers at full voice. There’s little chance of seeing a respectful campaign. Politicians and their teams will already have gathered mud pies ready to start slinging negativity and gloom as the political battles consume the media channels.