While the country's economy is expected to avoid a recession this year, the broader picture remains weak with double-digit inflation proving harder to tame.
However, Joe Staton, GfK's client strategy director, said there had been a "sudden flowering of optimism" among households. "The brighter views on what the general economy has in store for us ... could even be seen as the proverbial 'green shoots of recovery'," Staton said. Official data earlier this week showed consumer price inflation fell less than forecast in March to 10.1%, and the cost of food and drinks surged by the most since August 1977. Britain's high inflation rate has caused investors to raise bets that the Bank of England will hike interest rates for the 12th time in a row at its next meeting in May, to help return double-digit inflation to its 2% target.
There was also an increase in GfK's sub-index of shoppers' willingness to make expensive purchases. GfK's gauge of savings intentions fell marginally but was still positive and nine points higher than the same month last year.
The survey of 2,000 people was conducted between April 3 and April 13. (Reporting by Suban Abdulla; editing by David Milliken)
