Consumer confidence up in June amid ‘dark shadow' of inflation and war
Consumer confidence improved marginally in June despite the 'dark shadow' of inflation and turmoil in the Middle East, figures show.
GfK's long-running Consumer Confidence Index rose two points but remains firmly in negative territory at minus 18.
Confidence in the general economy over the coming year rose five points, driving the improvement, but still remains at minus 28 – 17 points worse than last June.
The forecast for personal finances over the next 12 months remained unchanged at positive two – two points down on this time last year.
The major purchase index, an indicator of confidence in buying big ticket items, also remained unchanged at minus 16, seven points better than last June.
Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, said: ' Consumers have been resolute in their views on their wallets, with June's personal financial situation scores – past and future – unchanged from May.
'Yet confidence is still fragile because the dark shadow of inflation is a day-to-day challenge for so many of us.
'With petrol prices set to rise in the coming weeks following the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, and with ongoing uncertainty as to the full impact of tariffs, there is still much that could negatively impact consumers.
'With so much volatility, now is certainly not the time to hope for the proverbial 'light at the end of the tunnel'.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
European shares rebound as worries of US involvement in Middle East ease
June 20 (Reuters) - European shares rebounded on Friday after three sessions of declines, as a stall in the United States' involvement in the Middle East conflict came as a relief to worried investors. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX), opens new tab was up 0.4% at 537.98 points at 0708 GMT. The benchmark is on track to log weekly declines for a second week. Israel and Iran's air war entered a second week and European officials sought to draw Tehran back to the negotiating table after President Donald Trump said any decision on potential U.S. involvement would be made within two weeks. The news improved market mood and helped recover some interest in risk assets that were being sold off during the week on uncertainty around how long the conflict would go on. In the market, travel and leisure stocks (.SXTP), opens new tab gained the most, up 1.1%, as oil prices eased. Conversely, energy shares (.SXEP), opens new tab were at the bottom of the index with a 0.7% decline, trimming some gains from this week. Among stocks, London's Berkeley (BKGH.L), opens new tab was the biggest percentage decliner, down 8%. The homebuilder named current finance chief Richard Stern as its new CEO, but reported an annual pre-tax profit slightly ahead of market expectations.
Reuters
33 minutes ago
- Reuters
Vatican-backed report seeks financial reform to avert decades of lost development
LONDON, June 20(Reuters) - A commission launched by the late Pope Francis has outlined financial reforms it says could help to avert decades of lost development in poor countries that face onerous repayments as global public debts reach record levels. The Jubilee Commission report is published ahead of the once-a-decade United Nations Financing for Development Conference that takes place in Seville, Spain, later in June. The environment for this jubilee-year campaign could hardly be more different from the last - 25 years ago - that yielded billions in historic debt forgiveness. Mariana Mazzucato, a University College London professor and member of the commission, said today's debt crisis was symptomatic of "a broken investment model". "The solution has to be public investment strategies that build productive capacity, domestic value added and sustainable fiscal space," she said. The report recommends measures including more debt suspension initiatives and steps to ensure money from institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, does not end up flowing from countries to private creditors. It also urges legal changes in London and New York - the jurisdictions for most bond contracts - to disincentivise creditors from refusing to take part during debt restructurings. After the debt forgiveness that followed the previous jubilee campaign, many developing countries, freed of their existing debt, turned to more expensive private lending, and China's lending ballooned. As a result, countries including Sri Lanka, Zambia and Ghana slid into default. A wave of sovereign defaults unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic - and exacerbated by the pressure of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a global rate-hiking cycle that boosted borrowing costs - largely crested last year. But the commission said dozens of countries are still squeezing spending to repay debt - with long-term implications for development and social cohesion. Average interest costs for developing countries as a share of tax revenues has almost doubled since 2014, while 3.3 billion people - and more than half of Africans - live in countries that spend more on debt service than health. The system, the commission's leaders said, traps countries in a cycle in which private lenders send cash when times are good - but quickly shut off access when global risk re-emerges. When lenders of last resort, such as the IMF, send money, the commission said that money often goes towards repaying creditors to avoid default. Martin Guzman, commission co-chair and Argentina's ex-Economy minister, said that created a problem for both creditors and debtors. "They don't come to the table with the right conditions for engaging timely and sustainable restructurings, and that aggravates the development crisis," he said.
Reuters
34 minutes ago
- Reuters
Eutelsat shares open up 6% after France gives it capital boost
PARIS, June 20 (Reuters) - Eutelsat shares were up 6% at opening on Friday after the French government announced it would become the satellite company's biggest shareholder following a 1.35 billion-euro ($1.55 billion) capital increase. The French finance ministry said the move would help the company, which owns the world's second-largest constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites, compete with Elon Musk's Starlink. "By strengthening the capital of Eutelsat, the only European player in low-Earth orbit constellations, France is securing its strategic independence and paving the way for that of Europe," French President Emmanuel Macron wrote in a post on X early on Friday. Other major Eutelsat shareholders will subscribe to the capital increase, Eutelsat said in a statement, but it was unclear if Britain, which holds 10.9% of the company, will inject new money into it. Eutelsat merged with OneWeb in 2023, saying at the time that the tie-up would lift the group's annual sales to $2 billion by 2027, with OneWeb's second generation of LEO satellites to be launched by the decade's end. But Eutelsat has since said it needed more than three times the number of satellites previously thought, requiring up to 2.2 billion euros in financing. ($1 = 0.8686 euros)
