LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - British households' confidence in their finances sank to new lows in March, according to a survey on Friday that showed recent measures announced by finance minister Rishi Sunak had failed to bolster morale.
The consumer confidence index from pollsters YouGov and consultancy Cebr fell in March to 103.9, its lowest level since January 2021 and down from 106.6 in February.
Both past and future gauges of household financial confidence struck their lowest levels since the survey started in 2012.
Last month Sunak faced broad criticism for not giving enough help to poorer households as the country heads for its biggest drop in living standards since at least the 1950s, thanks to surging inflation and energy bills.
He announced reductions in fuel duty and taxes on wages including an income tax cut in 2024 in a budget update, telling parliament it represented the biggest net cut to personal taxes in over 25 years.
A separate survey from market research firm GfK, which dates back to the mid-1970s, showed consumer confidence slid in March to levels associated with recession.
"The limited measures announced by Sunak in the Spring Statement have evidently failed to reassure the majority of consumers," said Kay Neufeld, head of forecasting at Cebr.
"Unfortunately, with the energy price cap rising in April and the war in Ukraine continuing to roil energy markets, consumers will face more hardship in the months to come."
Consumer price inflation hit a 30-year high of 6.2% in February and the government's budget watchdog two weeks ago forecast it would go close to 9% in late 2022, contributing to the biggest fall in living standards since at least the 1950s. (Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Kate Holton)