British consumer confidence drops as "reality starts to bite" - GfK

GfK

In a context of high inflation and rising interest rates, British consumers turned more pessimistic last month, according to market research firm GfK. Consumer confidence fell to -30 this month from -24 in June, the first decline since January and below economists' estimates of -26. This was the biggest month-on-month fall since April last year.

In the Gfk Statement, its client strategy director, Joe Staton, said that "Reality has started to bite and, as people continue to struggle to make ends meet, consumers will pull back from spending." Gf's monthly survey showed a decline in all measures of consumer sentiment compared to the previous month.

One of them, how consumers view the economy in the coming 12 months, fell sharply to -33 from -25. Inflation may have eased more than expected in June, falling to 7.9%, but it nonetheless remains the fastest pace of price growth among the world's richest economies.

UK retail sales

UK retail sales for June have come in better than expected, up by 0.7% month-over-month (MoM), when the market expected a 0.2% rise. There were increases across all the main sectors (food, non-food, and non-store retailing) except automotive fuel, which was slightly lower. Food store sales volumes bounced back with 0.7% growth in June 2023, following a fall of 0.4% in May 2023.

Japanese Inflation

In Japan, inflation remained above the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) 2% target for the 15th straight month in June. Headline consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.3% in June year-over-year (YoY), after rising 3.5% the previous month. Core CPI, which excludes fresh food costs, rose 3.3% in June from a year earlier, accelerating from a 3.2% gain in May. Excluding both fresh food and fuel costs, the index rose 4.2% in June from a year earlier, slower than a 4.3% gain in May. This version of the index, favoured by the BOJ, slowed for the first time since January 2022.

American Express

American Express all sessions on the IG platform, is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings before market open. The street expects earnings of $2.81 per share on revenue of $15.41 billion. Schlumberger is also set to report at lunchtime.

Oil services group

The oil services group is set to post earnings of 71 cents per share on revenue of $8.2 billion. Over the past 12 months, the stock has risen by a staggering 77%, way more than its rivals: Halliburton rose 32% over the period, and Baker Hughes rose 29%.