Brits tightened their purse strings in April, figures from payment card company Visa showed on Monday, signaling the Bank of England (BOE) could be wrong in their assessment that much of the slowdown in Q1 GDP growth was temporary.
Consumer spending fell by 1.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in three months to April vs 1.3 percent drop registered in March.
“Low confidence levels amongst shoppers and the gloomy outlook for the UK economy are likely to have contributed to this continued caution,” Visa’s chief commercial officer, Mark Antipof, said, according to Reuters. Discretionary spending on furniture, electrical appliances and recreation was worst hit, Visa said.
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