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Omicron and inflation chip away at UK consumer confidence

by Mike Robinson

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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO – People line up outside Hamleys toys shop, Regent Street during the coronavirus (COVID-19), outbreak in London, Britain on December 5, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

LONDON (Reuters – British citizens have become a lot more pessimistic since Friday’s survey revealed that there was a rapid-growing Omicron coronavirus variant. Inflation worries also hit spending plans.

GfK Consumer Confidence Index dropped to -15 in November after it rose in November, the first time since -14.

Joe Staton from GfK, the GfK client strategy director said that consumers were less certain about their finances over the next twelve months. This makes them less likely to purchase large quantities of Christmas gifts.

He stated that 2021 ended on a low note, with little hope of a bright start to 2022, perhaps due to new COVID curbs.

In an attempt to combat rising inflation, the Bank of England raised its interest rate on Thursday. This was the first increase in rates since the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.

The headline rate of inflation in Britain reached a record 5.1% during the twelve months ending November, a level that was ten years high.

GfK surveyed 2,000 individuals between Dec. 1 & 13.

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