GfK: UK consumer confidence gains three points in May

Confidence Index has increased three points this month to 0. All five measures used to calculate the Index Score saw increases this month.

Nick Moon, Managing Director of Social Research at GfK, comments:

“A rise of three points in the Index in a month is itself a significant change, but what matters more, psychologically at least, is that the Index has left negative territory for the first time in over nine years. It is not actually positive, standing as it does at 0, but this is the first time it has reached 0
since April 2005. Over the last 14 months the Index has risen a remarkable 27 points since April 2013 – the biggest gain since June 1977 when the index jumped 34 points from -14 to +20 in a seven-month period (June 1977 to December 1977).

Although all the individual elements of the Index rose this month, the real driver of the increase is people’s assessment of the general economic climate. There was a massive eight point jump in the retrospective assessment of the last 12 months and a four point increase in confidence about the next 12 months. Perhaps not surprisingly, given Labour’s campaigning about the decline in real incomes, people’s verdict on their own circumstances were less positive, with each rising by a somewhat anaemic one point.”

Source : GfK
www.gfk.com/uk/Documents/Press-Releases/GfK%20Consumer%20Confidence%20Barometer%20Press%20Release%20(May%202014)%20FF.pdf