Economic Weather Forecast: Freezing conditions return!
The Drum Weather forecast, prepared with the help of Union Direct, shows consumer confidence is still low; but is there any good news amongst the gloom?
Outlook
An improvement in the two measures of personal finance together with a pick up in spending intentions are the positive features in the February survey. On the negative side people expect more jobs to be lost and prices to be much higher than CPI inflation. Both these factors have pushed the current and future measures of the general economic situation lower and suggest weak growth and activity in the coming months
Around the UK…..
Confidence improved in three regions in February, fell in three regions and is unchanged in Scotland. Biggest gain is in the North (up 5 points to –28). Confidence picked up 3 points in the Midlands and 1 point in Wales. Most worrying is the 7-point slump in Londoners’ confidence in February that does not bode well for the capital’s economy. Confidence also shed 7 points in Northern Ireland to a very low –38 and 1 point in the South to –26.
Compared to a year ago all regions show double-digit falls in confidence with Northern Ireland and Scotland experiencing the biggest losses (both down 23 points)
Compiled in association with the Union Direct.