Consumer confidence rallies for third consecutive month - BRC

(Sharecast News) - Consumer sentiment rallied in July, a survey suggested on Thursday, fuelled by England's success in the football World Cup and a stabilising political outlook. According the latest consumer sentiment monitor from the British Retail Consortium, which measures households' forecasts for the coming quarter, expectations for the state of the economy improved to -37, up from June's -43.

The personal financial situation also strengthened, rising three points to -12, while personal saving expectations rose to -4 from -9.

It is the third month in a row that confidence has ticked higher.

However, consumers remained more cautious when it came to spending, with personal spending on retail falling four points to 1 and overall spending coming in at 13, compared to 16 a month earlier.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: "The rise may have been driven in part by Andy Burnham's confirmation as the next prime minister, ending a period of political instability, as well as by a national feel good factor of England progressing through the World Cup knockout stages.

"But we should not mistake this for recovery: only around one in ten expect the economy to improve in the future, and spending intentions remain more modest - although this may reflect lower inflation expectations rather than tighter budgets."

The data were collected by Opinium for the BRC between 7 and 10 July. Keir Starmer announced his intention to step down as party leader and prime minister on 22 June, paving the way for Andy Burnham - who was elected to Parliament a few days earlier - to become PM. He officially entered Downing Street on Monday.

A panel of 2,000 UK adults were surveyed.