London (shakespearefinance) 9 January, 2008: The Nationwide building society has reported that its consumer confidence index fell one point to 85 in December, the lowest point since February last year. The Nationwide said that economic uncertainty and higher food and petrol prices were responsible for the falling consumer confidence.    
 
The consumer confidence index has fallen since the Northern Rock collapsed in September as a direct result of US sub-prime effect. In the last four months, the financial markets in the UK have witnessed a serious turmoil. Mortgages, secured loans and personal loans have become hard to come by and increasing interest rates amid the credit crunch has affected the morale of the common consumer.   
 
The weakening housing market is another reason that has dented the consumer confidence level. The Nationwide consumer confidence index fell enormously by 12 points in November, the biggest monthly drop that has been registered since the survey began in May 2004.  
 
The Nationwide expects that the Bank of England would hold fire on interest rates this week after cutting them to 5.5% in December. However, in a separate development, the British Retail Consortium has urged the Bank to cut interest rate following the worst Christmas retail sales in the last three years.