Published Fri, Jun 20, 2025 · 08:49 AM
[LONDON] The confidence of UK consumers improved for a second straight month, a survey found, extending a rebound that’s at risk of being derailed as war in the Middle East and higher oil prices cloud the economic outlook.
GfK’s gauge of sentiment rose by two points to -18 in June, a release published on Friday showed. It’s the most positive reading since December and was slightly better than had been expected by economists, with the median forecast predicting it would be unchanged.
But Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, warned that confidence remains “fragile,” with households contending with rising consumer prices, higher taxes and signs of a worsening labour market.
The conflict between Israel and Iran has been driving up the cost of oil and US President Donald Trump’s trade war is upending international trade.
Those factors could jeopardise the improvements seen in the June survey, which found that consumers turned more optimistic about the outlook in the year ahead and registered a slight improvement in their spending intentions. Gauges looking at households’ own finances remained unchanged.
“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,” said Bellamy. “With so much volatility, now is certainly not the time to hope for the proverbial ‘light at the end of the tunnel’.” BLOOMBERG
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