UK consumer confidence slumps after election

Levels have reportedly fallen to lows comparable to the immediate aftermath of last year’s vote to leave the EU.

The analysis shows that in the first eight days of June, before the results of the general election were known, the YouGov/ Cebr consumer confidence index stood at 109.1, which was around the same level as during the month before the snap election was declared. 

But in the first 12 days after the result was known, the index fell to 105.2. A score of less than 100 represents a negative score, while a score of over 100 represents a positive one. 

Last year, around the time of the EU referendum, consumer confidence fell from 111.9 in the weeks before the vote, to 104.3 in the days after it. 

Looking at the figures for June as a whole – that is, combining both pre- and post-election data – the consumer confidence index for the month overall is at 106.9, which is its second-lowest level since the summer of 2013.

'Consumer confidence has been generally ticking downward since last autumn but the events of the past month have placed it under greater pressure,’ the report says. 

The analysis pins the decline to two different factors: a sharp decline in optimism over property prices, and the ‘continuing slow puncture of people’s household financial situations'.

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