Consumer confidence falls amid Brexit uncertainty

Consumer confidence has wavered due to fears finances will be squeezed post Brexit, according to a survey by YouGov and the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR).

The survey of over 6000 people showed that the consumer confidence index fell to 109.3 in October from 111.5 in the previous month, the lowest it’s been in over three years.

The higher the score is above 100 indicates a more optimistic populace.

"The flash crash in the pound and fears of a 'hard' Brexit have taken their toll on consumer confidence and 2017 looks set to be a challenging year for UK households," said CEBR director Scott Corfe.

Out of the eight measures of confidence, seven fell with consumers’ assessment of their household financial situation suffering its biggest monthly fall since December 2014.

"The decline in the value of the sterling will push up the price of a wide range of imported goods — including food — next year. At the same time, earnings growth shows little sign of picking up meaning there will be a further squeeze on family finances in 2017," said Corfe.

Job security was the only measure that consumers felt more optimistic about over the coming year.

Stephen Harmison, head of YouGov said: "Consumers pay attention — they know that it is likely that this situation will only get worse over the next year as Britain starts to negotiate its departure from the EU."

Meanwhile data released by the Office for National Statistics on 27 October showed third quarter UK GDP growth slowed to 0.5% although beat analysts expectations of 0.3%.