U.K. Consumers’ Retrenchment Is a Drag on Recovery, BOE Says

British households are cutting back on spending as they prepare for a worsening economic environment that’s threatening jobs and creating a drag on the recovery, the Bank of England said.

Fifty-six percent of households in a survey said income available after tax, insurance, housing costs, loan repayments and bills has fallen over the past year, the bank said in its Quarterly Bulletin in London today. Thirty-one percent reported no change and 13 percent said their income had risen.