Dip in consumers' financial confidence

Consumers financial confidence has suffered another dip, only weeks after recording the first increase in almost two years.

Standard Lifes quarterly financial confidence index fell from 54.6 per cent in the previous quarter to 53.3 per cent when it was measured earlier this month, as the impact of recent economic announcements, including the banking bailout, impacted on consumers’ broader outlook.

When it came to the gender divide, men were more likely to have a dip in confidence than women, with the latter showing a slight rise in confidence from 51.5 per cent to 52 per cent.