UK consumers marginally more upbeat in August

British consumer morale improved slightly in August but remained subdued overall as households became gloomier about their finances, a survey showed yesterday.

The monthly consumer confidence index from pollster YouGov and consultancy Cebr rose to 107.6 from 107.2 in July, aided by an increase in its measures of job security and house prices.

But UK consumers’ perception of household finances worsened for the fifth month in a row, the longest run since YouGov records started eight years ago.