Queues at Northern Rock, spreading financial turmoil from the American sub-prime meltdown, and reports of falling house prices have so far failed to dent widespread confidence that the present economic malaise will be short-lived.
An improvement in expectations about the prospects for the economy in general and jobs in particular underpinned Nationwide's consumer confidence index last month. Only 21 per cent of the respondents think there will be fewer jobs available in six months' time, down from 23 per cent in September.
Nationwide concluded that so long as consumers feel fairly secure in their jobs the overall measure of confidence is unlikely to go into free fall.
Although this robust view of the future was the only aspect of the building society's yardstick to pick up, the overall measure of confidence slipped only one point between September and October, despite a sharp drop in the number of people contemplating a major purchase with enthusiasm.
Only 14 per cent described this is a good time to splurge out on a house or a car, a finding that has come down from an all-time high of 33 per cent in November, 2005.
Nationwide suggested that softer expectations for house prices could account for this increasing caution, and that it could also reflect perceptions about the availability and cost of borrowed money resulting from the credit crunch.
"Consumer confidence seems, so far, to have remained resilient in the face of the recent highly visible upset in the financial markets," commented Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's chief economist.
"While there is a continued reluctance to spend, the credit crunch has not had a sharp effect on overall consumer sentiment, with consumers still very happy about the prospects in the labour market and for household finances.
"Looking forward, it is likely that we will see some weakening in confidence as the economy begins to slow, although some of the effect may be offset by the cuts in the base rate we expect in 2008."
The overall spending index dropped by eight points last moth to its lowest level since last December as expectations of rising house prices eased back sharply.
These are now expected to increase by only 1.9 per cent over the coming six months, down from a prediction of 3.12 per cent in September, continuing a trend of cooling expectations apparent ever since May.
