Consumer confidence nears 12 month low

Nationwide research revealed that consumer confidence in June dropped to 63 points compared to 66 points in May and down 21 points on the interim peak seen in February. Consumer faith in the housing market remained fairly stable in June with only a small fall recorded, while homeowners expect the value of their home to increase by 0.7% in the next six months, down 0.3% on May. Martin Gahbauer, chief economist of Nationwide, say: "The downward trend that we have seen in recent months extended into June as consumers continued to express caution towards the future situation. "With the...