After a brief rebound sparked by the royal wedding and summer weather, consumer confidence fell again in June as the economic outlook grew gloomier, new figures show.
Nationwide Building Society's confidence index was down four points to 51 during the month, representing a year-on-year drop of 11 points. It stood 28 points lower than its long-run average.
The decline reverses the 11 point gain the index made between April and May when the marriage of Prince William, extended bank holidays and brief spells of sunshine temporarily boosted morale.
With this impact now diminishing, consumers are worrying again about high inflation, unemployment and weak wage growth which continues to erode their spending power.
People are reluctant to splash out on big purchases or household goods, said the group.
Nationwide's head of economic and market analysis Mark Saddleton said the index had "again failed to build any sustained momentum to lift it from its current low level".
