The lender's research found that consumers were continuing to lose faith in the future of the UK economy, with the proportion believing that the current economic conditions were in bad shape growing from a quarter to a third in just one month.
Confidence in national employment fared much better though, despite a small increase in the number thinking that there are fewer jobs available now than in the Autumn.
Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide’s senior economist, said the weakening in consumer confidence was to be expected after food and fuel price hikes, adding: "It is perhaps too early for the base rate reduction at the beginning of February to have had any effect, but it is unlikely in current conditions that consumer confidence will return to the highs of 2007.”
A four point fall in the 'Spending Index' means that only 11 per cent of consumers today believed that now is a good time to make a major purchase such as a house or a car, bad news for a resurgence of demand within the housing market. This is 12 per cent less than in February 2007.
These rather gloomy figures are further compounded by the fact that consumers' future outlook remains bleak.
Their six month expectations for the UK economy are significantly worse than this time last year. This is perhaps unsurprising considering the current state of the financial markets, however it does not bode well for the UK seeing a surge in confidence anytime soon.
