Consumer confidence in the UK remained deep in the negative territory in November, as people were factoring in the impact of the government’s austerity measures, according to a survey.

The GfK NOP Consumer Confidence Index decreased by two points this month to -21, against the analyst expectation of a reading of -20.

Four of the five measures, including forecast of personal financial situation and general economic situation, decreased this month, while the remaining measure stayed the same, the report said. The annual moving average decreased one point to -18.

The index measuring changes in personal finances during the last twelve months has stayed the same this month, at -13 while the forecast for personal finances over the next twelve months decreased by five points to -7, twelve points lower than November ‘09.

The measure for the general economic situation of the country during the last twelve months decreased by three points to –46, thirteen points higher than this time last year.

There would need to be a further drop next month before we could definitely say things are getting worse, and that people really are concerned about the impact of the cuts in the Comprehensive Spending Review, said Nick Moon, MD of GfK NOP Social Research.

What is more worrying in this month's figures is that the worst-performing elements of the index are those that look to the future, with a five point fall in confidence for people’s personal financial situation over the next 12 months, he added.

United kingdom