Better news from the consumer sector, suggesting the impact of the massive easing of monetary policy may be starting to feed through, despite the headwinds of sharply rising unemployment and the credit crunch. The GfK-NOP consumer confidence index rose to its highest level for nearly a year, while confidence in the economy over the next year reached its best since August 2007, before the credit crunch started to bite. The consumer may be down but he or she is far from out. More details here.
Meanwhile, the Nationwide Building Society reported that house prices have fallen by 0.4% this month, following a 0.9% rise in March. Given that many analysts expected April’s fall to more than reverse the March rise, the figures were better than expected, and pointed to a clear moderation in the pace of price falls. More here.
Originally published at David Smith Economics UK and reproduced here with the author’s permission.
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