The UK consumer confidence hits a 4-year low in Dec

According to the latest report published by GfK in early trades, the UK consumer confidence deteriorated sharply and hit a four-year low in December, exposing risks further to the downside in 2018, Bloomberg reports.

Key Points:

GfK said its key index fell by one point to minus 13, the lowest since December 2013 and below the level reached in the aftermath of the Brexit vote last year. Households declared themselves deeply pessimistic about the economic situation and less willing to make major purchases than at any time since 2014. GfK hasn’t recorded a positive index reading since January 2016.

Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK, noted: “We need to see several issues move on before the downward trend of the consumer mood changes. We need to have a better sense of how Brexit will pan out, and also of how quickly and how far interest rates will rise. But none of this will be resolved quickly so there’s every likelihood that 2018 will take us lower.”