LONDON- Growing worries over energy bills, food costs and tax hikes prompted a hefty drop in British consumer confidence this month as people became more downbeat about the economic outlook, and retail sales slowed, surveys showed on Friday.
The GfK Consumer Confidence Index fell to -13 in September from -8 in August, the lowest reading since April and the biggest monthly drop since October 2020, when a surge in COVID-19 cases led to renewed lockdown restrictions.
A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to an unchanged reading.
A separate Confederation of British Industry (CBI) survey of retailers showed sales growth slipped to a six-month low in September after spiking to its highest since 2014 in August.
Businesses also said they were worried about running low on stocks of goods.
The readings come a day after the Bank of England said the case for higher interest rates “appeared to have strengthened” after it nudged up its forecast for inflation at the end of the year to over 4 percent, more than twice its target rate.
