Its consumer confidence index dipped to 48 in August from 49 in July. The fall was less steep than the expected reading of 47, despite last month’s riots.
An indicator that reflects consumers’ expectations for the economy in the next six months fell to 65 from 66 in the previous month.
However, the spending index jumped to 79 in August from 72 in July, indicating a marked improvement in consumers’ tendency to buy big-ticket items. The number of consumers who said it was a bad time to make a major purchase slid from 51% to 47%.
“Further signs that the UK economy is struggling to gain momentum, disorder in a number of English cities and renewed turbulence in global financial markets would all have been expected to weigh down heavily on confidence during the month,” said Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist.
He added: “Consumer confidence has remained largely stable this month with only the Spending Index recording a moderate boost.
However, the overall confidence index continues to lie well below its long run average and, with the economic outlook still challenging, confidence is likely to remain in the doldrums for some time yet.”
