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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Richard Partington Senior economics correspondent

UK consumer confidence falls at fastest rate since Covid as cost of living bites

Shoppers outside Pets at Home in Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh
Fort Kinnaird retail park in Newcraighall, south-east of Edinburgh. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Consumer confidence in the UK has fallen at the fastest rate outside the Covid pandemic since the 2016 Brexit vote as the escalating economic damage from the war in the Middle East hits Britain.

With less than a week before John Healey’s first budget, the latest barometer from the data company GfK indicated confidence plunged by 11 percentage points in October to -24 amid pressure on consumers from the rising cost of living.

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