Consumer confidence in the UK continued to fall in December, as households became increasingly worried about debt and were more hesitant to make major purchases. In its monthly survey, pollsters GfK/NOP said the headline consumer confidence index fell in December to -8 from -7 in November, disappointing market expectations for an improvement to -6. "Consumers may be dissatisfied by Gordon Brown's prebudget speech in early December, the increase in air and fuel duty may have left them feeling less optimistic," said Carol Bernasconi, divisional director at GfK NOP. "The major purchase measure reflects this and December's barometer as a whole is not one of Christmas cheer," he said. The sub-index measuring whether now is the right time to make major purchases fell the most. It decreased five points from last month, bringing it to -4, the lowest level in 2006 and five points lower than one year ago. The fall in these purchasing plans are likely due to tighter financing conditions after the Bank of England hiked interest rates twice in 2006 and may do so again this year. Despite their worries over debt, consumers became less inclined to put money aside, as the subindex measuring whether now is a good time to save also dropped to its lowest level in a year. It fell three points to +28. The index for personal finances over the last 12 months eased by three points, whereas there was no change of opinion regarding the outlook for household finances over the next year. UK consumers' views of the country's economic situation over the last twelve months remained stable, although there was a small increase in expectations for the national economic situation in the next twelve months.