U.K. consumer confidence improves in December; general economic outlook still remains cloudy

Consumer confidence in the United Kingdom improved during the month of December, although overall economic outlook remained cloudy during the period.

Consumer confidence in the United Kingdom was marginally better in December, data released by the latest survey from GfK showed Thursday with an index score of -7. That beat forecasts for -8, which would have been unchanged from the previous month; however, the negative score shows that pessimists continue to outnumber optimists.

"Confidence in the general economic situation for the UK has collapsed in the face of uncertainty about the future both at home and abroad," said Joe Staton, Analyst, GfK.

Whether British consumers carry on shopping will be critical to how well the economy performs in the months and years ahead as the U.K. charts its departure from the European bloc. Prime Minister Theresa May has signaled that she intends to launch the Brexit proceedings, which are expected to last at least two years, in early 2017, reports said.

Meanwhile, GBP/USD has formed an 'inverted hammer' candlestick pattern at 1.24, up 0.02 percent, while at 6:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Pound Strength Index remained neutral at -26.87 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex