CONSUMER confidence has stuttered for the first time since the end of the Iraq war, a report showed yesterday.
The study, carried out by Martin Hamblin GfK on behalf of the European Commission, found greater pessimism across a range of measures, including the general economic situation and personal finances.
Taking all the findings together, the study's headline consumer confidence index for this month fell to minus three from minus one last month.
That was despite a steady recovery in the performance of the index since April, and in the face of an improvement in the FTSE 100 Index.
The survey found that perceptions of the general economic situation in the UK had decreased for the third month in a row to minus 15.
Expectations for the future of personal finances have also dropped from a score of plus 12 last month to plus nine this month, with the climate for making major purchases weakening three points to plus 19.
The fall in consumer confidence came as a surprise to economists, who said the headline index still remained some way above levels seen ahead of the outbreak of the conflict in Iraq.
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