Ongoing Brexit uncertainties continue to plague consumers in Britain with the GfK consumer sentiment falling to -14 in October from -12 in September. The figure has come in worse than economists’ expectations, touching the lowest level since July 2013.

The survey was conducted between October 1 and October 14, before PM Boris Johnson was able to negotiate a new withdrawal agreement with the EU and certainly before the EU granted yet another extension on the Brexit deadline. However, these factors could fail to improve the situation and could possibly drive the consumer sentiment even deeper into negative territory.

Consumers’ assessment of their outlook on personal finances over the next 12 months saw the steepest decline in the latest GfK survey. This aligns with official data that reveals that Britain saw the highest number in eight years of households declaring insolvency over the past year till September.

According to another survey by SMMT, car production by the UK has also been severely hit by Brexit-related concerns. Car output in Britain contracted by 3.8% YoY during September over weakening external demand and political turmoil and uncertainty in domestic markets. While Brexit is the main factor behind the contraction in domestic demand, overseas demand has fallen on account of global trade tensions and weakness in global economic growth.