British consumer confidence has recovered to where it was before the September attacks on the US, and the appetite for borrowing is undiminished, two reports showed today.
The reports, from polling company MORI and the Bank of England, provided further evidence that consumers remain the mainstay of the G7's fastest growing economy and suggested that British interest rates would not be coming down soon.
The MORI Economic Optimism Index (EOI) - a measure of whether the economy will improve or deteriorate over the next 12 months - rose in November after falling in October and September, MORI said.
The EOI has now recovered to around the same level as recorded in August.
The health of consumer sentiment was underlined by Bank of England figures which showed the total amount borrowed by households in October rose to £6.493 billion sterling - the second highest figure on record.
The Bank of England data suggested that after a brief dip following the September 11th attacks, the housing market has bounced back strongly with the number of new mortgage approvals rising to 110,000, from 103,000 the previous month.
Economists and the Bank of England have long predicted consumer demand will start to falter as job losses and growing pessimism about the economy begin to take their toll.
But so far the expected retrenchment of consumer spending has failed to materialise.