Consumer confidence rose in March as promises of wage increases boosted optimism

A snowy March failed to dampen consumer confidence in the UK, according to new research which shows optimism increased over the month.

Consumers were generally more confident across the board in the key areas of personal finance, the general economic situation, the major purchase index and the savings index, the long-running research from GfK on behalf of the European Commission showed.

Overall UK consumer confidence rose three points to -7, after a one-point drop last month, though it was still slightly down on the -6 recorded last year.

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“Despite the Beast from the East leaving the nation shivering under a blanket of snow, stoic UK consumers turned faintly bullish this March,” said GfK’s Joe Staton.

“The prospect of wage rises finally outstripping declining inflation, high levels of employment with low-level interest rates, and finally some movement on the Brexit front appear to have boosted our spirits.

It’s still a little early to be talking about green-shoots, and the core score is of course still negative, but this is definitely a movement in the right direction.

The index measuring changes in personal financial situations for the last year rose three points this month to +3 – above the +2 total seen last year.

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Meanwhile the forecast for personal finances over the next year has rocketed by five points to +10, seven points higher than last year.

The measure for the UK’s general economic condition for the last 12 months was still slightly lower than in March 2017, but was higher than last month – as was the -22 point score for general economic conditions over the year ahead.

People were slightly more willing this month to make major purchases, such as furniture or expensive electrical goods, although the +2 score was still four points lower than last year.

But the savings index, which measures consumers’ willingness to squirrel money away, was 14 points higher than this time last year at +13.

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