In an extra poll conducted by GfK in late March, British consumer confidence dropped to the weakest since February 2009, as the economic shutdown to fight the coronavirus spread dampened households’ financial hopes.
Key findings
“The drop in the index to -34 from -9 in its regular survey for March, conducted earlier in the month, was the biggest in more than 45 years.
GfK client strategy director Joe Staton said: “Our COVID-19 ‘flash report’ shows a dramatic result with consumer confidence falling off the cliff in the last two weeks of March.”
The biggest decline in the GfK survey came in households’ willingness to make major purchases, despite a spike in demand for freezers, televisions and home office equipment as people prepared to spend most of their time at home.”
GBP/USD off the lows, not out of the woods yet
The US dollar pull back from multi-day highs across its main competitors prompted the bounce in GBP/USD from 1.2210 low but the pound is not out of the woods yet, as the UK PM Boris Johnson remains hospitalized due to coronavirus.
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