UK consumer confidence improved two points in April, with optimism about personal finances for the coming year remaining stable.
The GfK Consumer Confidence Index increased two points to -19 in April. Four measures were up and one stayed the same in comparison to last month’s announcement.
The index measuring changes in personal finances during the past year is up two points at -11; this is 10 points better than April 2023. The forecast for personal finances over the next 12 months is unchanged at +2, which is 15 points higher than this time last year.
The measure for the general economic situation of the country during the past 12 months is up four points at -41; this is 14 points higher than in April 2023. Expectations for the general economic situation over the next 12 months have increased by two points to -21; this is 13 points better than April 2023.
The Major Purchase Index is up two points to -25; this is three points higher than this month last year.
The Savings Index has increased one point to +26 in April; this is seven points higher than this time last year.
‘Significantly better’ than last April
Joe Staton, GfK client strategy director, said: “Headline confidence edged forward in April to -19. There was a welcome repeat of the March +2 score for how consumers feel about their personal finances in the next 12 months. While the Overall Index Score remains negative, all of the underlying five measures this April are significantly better than they were last April.
“These improvements reflect the impact on household budgets of lower inflation and the anticipation of further tax cuts. However, we are a long way from the much firmer sentiment last seen in the period before Brexit, Covid and the conflict in Ukraine.
“There is a lot of ground to make up, and caution is needed in the face of continuing economic and fiscal challenges, and revised views on when the Bank of England might cut borrowing costs. But spring has arrived and maybe consumer confidence is, at last, slowly becoming brighter and heading in the right direction.”
