Consumer mood bleakest since 1990

LONDON (Reuters) - Consumer confidence fell in May to its weakest since 1990, a survey showed on Friday which bodes ill for both the retail outlook and the sagging political fortunes of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The GfK NOP consumer confidence barometer fell 5 points to -29 as people's mood soured over the state of the economy and their own personal finances.

Britons are now more reluctant to make major purchases over the next year than at any other time since the series began in 1983.

"Consumers' confidence in the economy over the next year, plus a reluctance to make major purchases, reflect the popular expectation of a recession - both these measures are at the lowest level on record," said Rachael Joy of GfK NOP.

The index measuring people's expectations of their finances over the next year dropped to -4 from 0 while that measuring the general economic situation dropped one point to -39, the lowest on record.

(Reporting by Sumeet Desai; editing by David Christian-Edwards)