All five measures in the index saw an increase, and the overall score rose from -12 (July’s score, which equalled 2016’s post-Brexit low) to -10.

The ‘personal financial situation over the last 12 months’ measure saw the biggest rise, of four points, from -2 to 2. Personal financial situation over the next 12 months rose by three points, from 2 to 5; general economic situation over the last 12 months rose by one point from -31 to -30; general economic situation over the next 12 months rose by one point from -28 to -27; and major purchase index also rose by one point from -1 to 0.

“These figures must be seen against the backdrop of better news on inflation, public finances, jobs and growth prospects as the UK economy displays some signs of stability after a volatile start to the year," said Joe Staton, head of market dynamics at GfK.

"However, the index has a lot of ground to regain to get back to black. So is this month’s rise significant? Or could we simply be witnessing a dead-cat-bounce over the dog-days of summer?”