Confidence among UK consumers has fallen into negative territory for the first time since June 2020, according to a survey.
The Consumer Confidence Index from YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) fell by 4.2 points in August from 103.0 to 98.8, the largest decline since the early stages of the pandemic.
It comes as inflation, largely driven by energy price rises, piles pressure on consumers ahead of winter.
Both household finance measures – for the last 30 days and the outlook for the next 12 months – dropped by 3.1 points and 10 points respectively.
Every other measure also saw worsening scores, including the outlook for house prices plummeting by 7.2 points to 124.9.