Consumer confidence continues to fall

These are the largest recorded falls in the index so far. More gloomy economic data, further falls in house prices, news of job losses and yet more increases in the cost of living on the horizon are likely to have contributed to the substantial drop in confidence this month.

The Present Situation Index, which measures views about the current economic and employment situation, and the Expectations Index, which reflects sentiment about the economy, labour market and household income over the next six months, fell by 18% and 15% respectively. The Spending Index, which reflects views about spending on household goods and major purchases, also dropped by 11% in the month bringing the index level to 54.

Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "The continuing downward trend in consumer confidence is not surprising given the recent batch of poor economic data. Talk of the increasing chances of a recession, more weakening in the housing market and the continuing rise of food and energy costs will have further dented confidence as will reports of job losses. Falling oil prices and lower fixed mortgage rates offer some good news, but a cut in the bank base rate is still unlikely this summer."

Consumers' expectations about house price growth over the next six months decreased, with the Nationwide House Price Expectations index falling from -3.2% in June to -4.8% in July.