Christmas has failed to raise more than a glimmer of festive cheer for Britain's consumers, with Nationwide reporting only a tiny rise in consumer confidence in November.
The building society said that Britain's confidence had crept up by four points in November after five consecutive monthly declines. However, the index, which stands at 40, is seven points lower than the same point last year, and 37 points below average.
The survey showed that consumers were slightly more likely to be planning large purchases than they were in October, and there was a small improvement in expectations for employment prospects and household income.
"Signs that inflation has past its peak may have provided some comfort," said Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner. "At least confidence has moved off its all time lows in the run up to Christmas."
He added that, despite the slight improvement in those customers planning to spend, twice as many people still judge it a bad time rather than a good time to be making a major purchase.
Financial advisers are also pessimistic, according to a survey by Skandia, showing that confidence in the UK economy fell by ten per cent in the last quarter of 2010. Seventy per cent of advisers said that European debt is the biggest threat to the UK economy, while 60pc think inflation will decrease over the next year.
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Almost two thirds of advisers believe that interest rates will remain at their current low base of 0.5pc in 2012. This is a huge change compared to just six months ago, when 84pc of them thought rates would rise.
"It certainly has been an interesting and turbulent year," said Peter Mann, chief executive at Skandia UK. "Who would have predicted the unprecedented events witnessed across global markets, including the US debt crisis, EU debt crisis, and riots across Europe and at home? These events have all taken their toll on adviser confidence, and concern in Europe continues to be forefront in people's minds. "
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