More consumers were positive about the state of the housing market in November (-10), as optimism increased in both the East Midlands (-9 to 4) and the South West (-21 to -4), while on the flipside Northern Ireland grew more negative (-21 to -34).
Patrick Foley, chief economist at Lloyds Bank, said: “Falling fuel prices and reduced consumption of gas and electricity are now adding up to a noticeable reduction in the cost of essential spending.
“Together with job security continuing to improve, particularly for those who say that money is tight, this bodes well for an improvement in households’ disposable incomes and a continuation of 2014’s robust economic growth in 2015.”
In terms of sentiment towards the country’s financial situation it improved year-on-year to November (-53 to -30) but remains negative, while Greater London was the most optimistic region in the study (-2).
Attitude towards employment remained steady (-18), with Yorkshire and Humberside (-44) being the most negative and Greater London (6) being the most positive.
Greg Coughlan, director of personal current accounts at Lloyds Bank, added: “The improvements we have seen over the course of the year are of great benefit to consumers.
“With consumer confidence at an all-time high for the end of 2014, this will hopefully help bolster spending into the New Year.”
