UK consumers turn to saving as poor economic outlook saps confidence

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The UK families are giving priority to the cost of consuming the economic attitude of the darkness, despite the cost of taking less orrow, indicating a potential pull on growth, according to research.

On Friday, the research agency GFK showed that February was considered as “good time to save” on the net by 30 percent of customers, the same proportion, the research agency showed information from GFK on Friday.

Figure 33 percent of the post-economic crisis is higher and minus 2 percent above 2008 and 2020s is shy in about 33 percent before Living And intense increase at interest rates.

GFK’s separate consumer confidence index-people see how their personal financial and broad economic prospects are-aids to reduce the rate of quarter-points in the bank of England by 2 percent points in the beginning of this month.

The survey was conducted in the first half of February, because anxiety grew that the weak economic growth and adhesive inflation could trigger a time of “stagnation” and traders warned High priced and cut off jobs In the autumn budget follows tax increase.

Official The data was published on Wednesday It shows that inflation has increased higher than the maximum 3 percent expectation of 10 months in January, when the economy has just increased in the second half of 2024.

Nilsenic/GFK Consumer Insights Director Neil Bellami says the search points to people “Money for a rainy day [because] They do not have much confidence in the way the economy is going on.

He added, “They think that there may be more problems” which means “less money in the economy” was saving a lot of families.

The GFK sub-index tracking views of the general economic situation have increased by 3 points a month, but in minus 31 still was deeply negative.

The survey suggests that the gap between strong salaries increases and the expenditure of weak consumers may continue, restricting the possibility of economic growth.

Official data on Tuesday showed that the wages adjusted for inflation have increased rapidly from December to December from 2021 to December. However, per capita family expenses decreased in the third quarter of 2021, contributing to weak GDP growth.

Sub-Index tracks customers’ customers saying that it was a good time to make big purchases three points, increasing the recovery from the bottom to the height of the living crisis, but in six years it was still negative at 17. Before the epidemic, the average lesson was positive.

The biggest single improvement is how customers saw their personal financing for the coming year, the four points increased by four points and measured the two from the negative region.

Bellami said that BOE’s decision to reduce the interest rate from 5.75 percent from 5.75 percent this month will brighten the mood of some people like the mortgagers and potential homebreakers.

But he added that “the majority is still fighting a lot of living crisis. Prices are still rising above the target of the bowl; Gas and electricity bills remain a challenge for many families. “

Bowie’s Rate-Setter Catherine Mann told the Financial Times why he had minimized consumers’ demand Vote for a jumbo half-point cut February at the central bank meeting in February.

“We have monitored growing actual income for some time and the cost of the rising actual income should be more visible. I thought it would happen last year. I was talking about being a dry powder to save. It has not been implemented, ”he said in an interview.