Consumer confidence fell slightly in February as Britons became more pessimistic about the UK's general economic situation, a leading pollster found today. In its monthly survey, GfK/NOP said its main headline consumer confidence index fell one point to -8 from -7 in January, whereas analysts polled by AFX News were not expecting any change in the index. Although three out of the five subindices within the indicator fell, UK consumers found some comfort in the fact that the Bank of England did not raise rates in February, said Carol Bernasconi, divisional director at GfK/NOP. "This month consumers are much more optimistic about their personal finances compared with the past year. This is probably a result of interest rates remaining the same this month despite rumours that they would increase again," she said. However, past rate hikes are being felt, as "again for the second month in a row the 'now is a good time to save index' has recorded an increase, indicating that people are being cautious in the current economic climate," Bernasconi said. The major purchases measure slumped 6 points to +4, while the 'now is a good time to save' index rose one point to +35. Views on the general economic situation of the country during the last 12 months have seen a drop of two points, down to -33. There was also a small drop in expectations for the general economic situation during the next 12 months, with the index falling by one point to -21. The rises in the subindices came in personal household finance views. The index measuring changes in personal household finances rose three points, leaving it at 0, while the index for household finances over the next year rose one point to a score of +10.