The Nationwide has reported that consumer confidence rose by five points to 61 during August, after falling for three consecutive months.

The building society’s index now stands at a similar level to August 2009, but remains significantly below the long-run average of 83. The Expectations Index saw the biggest increase in August, rising by seven points to 84. This follows a fall of 43 points in the five months from February 2010. Consumers’ faith in the present situation continued its slow path upwards, with the Present Situation Index rising by one point for the third consecutive month.

Similarly, spending confidence rose during the month, rising by four points to 98 and reversing the fall seen in July.

In line with recent house price figures, consumers expressed increased pessimism towards the housing market in August. Consumers now expect the value of their home to decrease by 0.1% over the next six months – a decrease of half a percentage point from July’s figure (+0.4%).

Mark Saddleton, Nationwide’s head of economic and market analysis, said: “Consumers expressed greater optimism during August causing the index to recover some of the ground lost since its interim peak in February. It may be that the recent dip was a product of increased caution following the General Election as consumers assessed what direct impact a change in Government and new austerity measures would have on their individual circumstances.