UK May consumer confidence comes in at -40 (April -38) - falls to its lowest on record

The records for UK consumer confidence go back to 1974. May 2022 has hit the lowest since the records began.

Comes in at -40, matched a record low hit in April 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic swept the country.

• from -38 in April
• inflation Inflation Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an economy or country increases over a period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a given currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.In terms of assessing the strength or currencies, and by extension foreign exchange, inflation or measures of it are extremely influential. Inflation stems from the overall creation of money. This money is m Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an economy or country increases over a period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a given currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.In terms of assessing the strength or currencies, and by extension foreign exchange, inflation or measures of it are extremely influential. Inflation stems from the overall creation of money. This money is m Read this Term and rates both rising weighed

Added info via Reuters:

• Past readings this low have presaged recessions
• "Consumer confidence is now weaker than in the darkest days of the global banking crisis, the impact of Brexit on the economy, or the COVID shutdown," said Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK. "Nothing on the economic horizon shows a reason for optimism any time soon," Staton said.
• Even recessions in the early 1980s and early 1990s - a time of double-digit interest rates and high unemployment - produced less pessimism than the current crisis which is playing out against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.
• Separate data published by Lloyds Bank showed spending on energy by its customers rose by an annual 28% in April. The BoE forecasts inflation will top 10% later this year and investors expect more interest rate increases.