UK consumer confidence falls slightly in August, says Thomson Reuters/Ipsos

Consumer morale fell slightly in August in part due to the Brexit result, according to a survey on Thursday.

The Thomson Reuters and Ipsos primary consumer sentiment index, which polled 1,000 people, found there was a slight dip in consumer morale in August to 49.2 from 49.4 in July. This level of consumer confidence was last seen in early 2014.

"Consumer confidence decreased slightly in the month to August, but it shows little sign of a significant, sustained Brexit effect as yet," said Bobby Duffy, managing director of consumer affairs at Ipsos MORI.

The result is the latest in a string of surveys which paint a mix picture for consumer confidence - an important gauge of the economy - after the Brexit result. The GfK survey found that morale fell to its lowest level in 26 years as its index dropped 11 points to -12 in July.

However, the Visa consumer spending index, calculated by Markit based on credit and debit card usage, found spending increased 1.6% year-on-year in July.

The British retail consortium said consumer spending bounced in July and supermarket Tesco, and clothing and homeware retailers Next and John Lewis said they had not been affected from the Brexit result so far.

Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “Retail sales do not reliably track measures of consumer confidence, which have fallen sharply since the referendum, on a month-to-month basis.

"The relationship, however, between confidence and a three-month average of year-over-year growth in retail sales is strong ... In any event, retail sales account for only one-third of total household spending.

"The sales numbers likely will give a misleadingly upbeat steer on the strength of overall spending, because consumers tend to prioritise cutting back on services - like restaurant meals and gym memberships - and big-ticket items in downturns."

He said the economic outlook would improve if Chancellor Philip Hammond gives consumers a helping hand in the Autumn Statement in December.

“Speculation has mounted that he could cut VAT temporarily, perhaps to 17.5% from 20% currently. This would mirror the temporary reduction in VAT to 15%, from 17.5%, between December 2008 and December 2009 … The Chancellor’s focus at the Autumn Statement, however, will be on encouraging business to invest.”

The Bank of England this month cut interest rates to 0.25% from 0.5% and added to its quantitative easing programme to stimulate the economy after the Brexit result.