2018.07.2300:51:00UTC+00UK Household Finance Outlook Turns Positive July

British households' finance outlook turned positive for the first time since March 2016, while their financial pressures softened in July, results of a survey by IHS Markit and financial information provider Ipsos Mori revealed Monday.

The seasonally adjusted Household Finance Index, or HFI, rose to 44.6 in July from 43.6 in June.

However, a score below 50 suggests pessimism regrading finances among the U.K. households.

The index measuring the outlook for financial well-being over the next twelve months, climbed to 51.3 in July from 48.2 in the previous month.

A continued solid increase in income from employment and softer inflationary pressures combined to help ease the perceived strain on current finances.

On the price front, inflation expectations eased to a 19-month low in July, indicating that UK households forsee a softer squeeze from inflationary pressures over the next year.

"Nonetheless, households shifted their interest rate rise expectations towards the near-term, with around half of respondents anticipating a Bank of England rate rise before the end of the year," Sam Teague, Economist at IHS Markit, said.