Britons Turn Most Confident About Their Own Finances in a Year

UK consumers are the most optimistic they’ve been about their household budgets in 12 months, according to a closely watched survey, a sign Britons are starting to feel the benefits of the Bank of England’s interest rate cuts.

GfK’s index tracking sentiment around personal finances for the next 12 months rose to 5 in August, up 3 points from the month before, according to data released Friday. The market researcher’s overall consumer confidence measure — which also includes sentiment around the wider economy — defied analyst expectations of no change by improving 2 points to -17, the best reading since December.