British consumers appear to be turning more optimistic as the country eases lockdown measures and reopens its economy. GfK’s consumer confidence index surged to the highest level seen since March during the first couple of weeks in June to touch -30, up from -36 towards the end of May.

However, the reading continues remain in the negative territory amid rising uncertainty about the extent of the economic impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The improvement in consumer confidence could be a result of stores reopening and people being allowed to resume work over the past couple of weeks.

However, GfK’s director Joe Staton has cautioned that the uptick may not continue unless economic conditions improve. He observed, “With the labour market set for more job losses, we have to question whether we are seeing early signs of economic recovery or that infamous ‘dead cat bounce’. Most bets will be on the dead cat.”

Notwithstanding this, the latest jump in the consumer confidence was the highest seen in four years. Consumers are feeling more upbeat about their personal finances as well as the general economic outlook for the next year, helping drive this figure higher.