LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - British consumer confidence fell to its second lowest level on record in January as people fretted about the deepening recession and grew increasingly worried about their own finances, a survey showed on Friday.
The GfK NOP index fell four points to -37. That was lower than at any point during the recessions of the early 1990s and 1980s and the weakest since the record low last July when oil prices were at record peaks and interest rates were much higher.
The sub-index measuring people's perception of their own finances over the next year fell four points to -14, also the lowest since July despite borrowing costs dropping to a record low this month and petrol being much cheaper.
GfK noted a particularly sharp drop in morale among young people. The confidence index among 16-29 year olds fell 10 points, more than twice the drop recorded for the population at large.
"This is perhaps a reaction to the recent spate of reported job losses, with fears that those wanting to enter the job market will be unable to do so," said Rachael Joy of GfK.
Britain's economy plunged into recession at the end of last year, making job losses and dire warnings about the economic outlook front-page news.
The International Monetary Fund warned this week that Britain was facing the deepest recession of any big industrialised economy and its economy was likely to shrink 2.8 percent this year.
Interviews for the survey were conducted between January 9 and 18.
(Reporting by Christina Fincher; Editing by Andy Bruce)