U.K. consumer confidence plummeted in September to an 18-month low as Britons braced themselves for the biggest spending cuts since World War II, Nationwide Building Society said. The index of sentiment fell 9 points from the previous month to 53, the lowest since March 2009, the customer-owned lender said in an e-mailed statement today. A measure of whether now is a good time to spend fell 14 points to 85, the lowest level since November 2008. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne will next week reveal details of the spending cuts he announced in June to tackle the nation’s record budget deficit. Bank of England officials have debated adding stimulus to aid the economy and policy maker David Miles said yesterday the U.K. still faces “big risks” as the recovery remains “immature.” Today’s numbers may have been “driven by a realization of the true impact of the cuts announced in the emergency budget,” Martin Gahbauer, chief economist at Swindon, England-based Nationwide, said in the statement. “The government’s impending spending review is likely to have a strong bearing on consumer confidence.” Prime Minister David Cameron said last week that Britain needs to “face up to our financial responsibilities” by curbing its record budget deficit. Details of the expenditure squeeze are due on Oct. 20. Last week, the government unveiled plans to cut the Child Benefit welfare payments for more than 1 million families. Consumer Outlook A gauge measuring expectations for the economy in the next six months fell by 12 points to 73, the report showed. A measure of people’s current perception of the economy fell 5 points to 22, the lowest this year. “At every level of life, everybody’s become more careful,” Philip Green, the billionaire owner of Arcadia Group Ltd., said in an interview this week on Bloomberg Television. “Whether you’re a business, whether you’re a consumer, whether you’re a saver, everybody’s become more aware.” Sentiment on the housing market improved slightly in the Nationwide survey. Consumers expect the value of their home to rise 0.1 percent in the next six months, compared with a prediction of a 0.1 percent decline in August. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors still said yesterday that a gauge of house prices fell to a 16-month low in September and the British Chambers of Commerce said the economy “slowed considerably” in the third quarter. To contact the reporter on this story: Svenja O’Donnell in London at sodonnell@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Fraher at jfraher@bloomberg.net

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