UK Consumer Confidence Slips

British consumer confidence fell this month to its lowest level since the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum, crimped by worries around rising inflation pressures, a survey showed, Reuters reported. Pollster YouGov and the Center for Economics and Business Research said their gauge of consumer morale fell by one point to 108.1 in December, the lowest level since July. The survey found a sizeable drop-off in optimism about household finances over the coming 12 months, with inflation set to rise sharply. “The slow creep of inflation is starting to be both seen in the economy at large and felt in consumers’ wallets throughout the country,” Scott Corfe, director at Cebr, said. “Despite things being better than many expected, looking ahead to 2017 there is a feeling that a slight slowdown is on the way.” The YouGov/Cebr report chimed with a separate survey by GfK on Thursday that showed a deterioration in consumers’ outlook for 2017, despite morale improving overall.