Marginal increase in UK consumer confidence

The index recorded an increase of 0.9 points to 102.3 in November. Scores above 100 indicate more consumers are confident than not.

The measure for household finances fell slightly by -0.3, with a greater number of respondents reporting their financial situation had worsened, rather than improved, in the previous 30 days.

However, the outlook for household finances over the next 12 months improved, increasing by 3.2 to 92.2 – the highest level recorded by the index since March.

The metric for job security over the past 30 days remained at 87.2 in November, while the outlook for the next year improved slightly with an increase of 0.6 points.

While the home value index increased by 4.6 points – with more homeowners believing that their property increased in value during the past 30 days – the outlook for house prices over the next 12 months was more modest, increasing by 0.7 in November.  

The figures are based on data collected daily by YouGov during 6,000 monthly interviews. Respondents answer questions about household finances, property prices, job security and business activity, over the past 30 days and looking ahead to the next 12 months.

Kay Neufeld, head of macroeconomics at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said: “November has been a truly mixed bag for UK households. The month started on a low note with England entering a second national lockdown. 

“While it seems likely that GDP will contract again in the fourth quarter, we also received some decidedly good news later in the month in the form of the vaccine announcements. This means that there is now a realistic exit strategy in place, which has notably lifted spirits and boosted three out of the four forward looking indicators, leading to an overall increase in the Consumer Confidence Index of 0.9 points this month.”