Consumer confidence in the U.K. increased in December as prospects for the economic situation in the near future soared amid the start of the Covid-19 vaccination program in the country.
The Consumer Confidence Barometer, compiled by German market-research company GfK, rose to minus 26 in December compared with the minus 33 reading registered the prior month.
The indicator came in at a higher level than predicted by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, who had expected a reading of minus 30.
In December, the rise in confidence was driven by a surge in Britons’ assessment of the general economic situation over the next 12 months, which soared by 15 points. A positive change of such magnitude for that measure hadn’t been registered since May 2011, the report said.
“It’s safe to say that consumers are looking for good news and they have found it in the form of the U.K.’s Covid-19 vaccination program getting underway, which has lifted the mood pre-Christmas 2020,” said Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK.
All five indexes that make up the barometer rose in December compared to the prior month. Apart from the aforementioned surge in future economic expectations, consumers’ assessment of their personal finances for the last twelve months and for the year to come rose by seven and eight points, respectively.
The major purchase index, which gauges demand among shoppers, increased by six points, and the index measuring the general economic situation over the last year edged up two points.
With December’s rise, consumer sentiment in the U.K. regained almost all lost ground from October and November, when a resurgence in Covid-19 cases and the implementation of restrictions to contain them soured consumers’ mood. However, the indicator remains far from its pre-pandemic level of minus 9 in March.
The survey, which is conducted on behalf of the EU, polled 2,000 individuals between Dec. 1 and 11, amid the approval of the first Covid-19 vaccine and the beginning of its rollout across the country.
Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at [email protected]
