UK household finances take new turn for the worse: survey

LONDON (Reuters) – The financial health of British households deteriorated in August at a faster pace than last month, in an unpromising sign for the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey showed on Monday.

The Household Finance Index from data company IHS Markit fell to 40.8 in August from 41.5 in July, an abrupt end to the improvement shown in previous months when parts of the economy reopened following lockdown.

“Overall, the data hint at some worrying trends when put in the context of the significant recession facing the UK,” Lewis Cooper, an economist at IHS Markit, said.

The survey of 1,500 adults took place from Aug. 6 to Aug. 9.