"While an unchanged figure may not seem very good news, the maintenance of all of last month's 3-point gain is encouraging"
- Nick Moon, managing director of social research at GfK
Consumer confidence in Britain remained flat in February from the previous month, as optimism about personal finances soared to the highest in almost two years, a report by researchers GfK NOP showed on Thursday. A gauge of consumer confidence came in at minus 26, matching January's reading, while analysts had expected index to fall by 1 point. The index, which was designed to measure personal finances, increased by two points and reached -5, the highest balance since May 2011. At the same time, a gauge of general economic situation over the next twelve months remained unchanged at -25 points. A slight improvement in consumer sentiment and in some sectors, as service and construction are pointing at a recovery in the beginning of this year.
"While an unchanged figure may not seem very good news, the maintenance of all of last month's 3-point gain is encouraging," said Nick Moon, managing director of social research at GfK. "Consumers may be regaining their breath before moving on to a new base camp in the ascent towards the -9 that is the overall average of the index across its almost 40-year life."
"It has been a bright spot among the data in the last year or so," said Samuel Tombs, an economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London.
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