The five interest rate hikes which have been imposed by the Bank of England over the last 12 months have been blamed for a fall in consumer confidence in August.

And according to new figures released by Nationwide Building Society, all measures of confidence dropped during the month, the first time this has happened since December 2006.

The index, which measures how people feel about the current economic and employment situation, fell by two points in August, while the expectations index, which looks at the same factors in six months' time, was four points lower.

Almost a third of people said they believe less jobs will be available in six months' time, while a similar number also think the economy's future looks bleak.

At the same time the group's spending index, which looks at whether people think now is a good time to make a major purchase, fell to 79, just two points above its all-time low reached in December last year.

Just 15% of people think now is a good time to buy a house or car, compared with 21% this time last year, while the number of people who think it is a good time to make a smaller purchase hit a new low of 39%.

The research comes as the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee begins its two-day interest rate meeting.

Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "The fall in each of the consumer confidence indices is not surprising given the five increases in interest rates in just a year.

"It now seems clear that consumers are taking this to heart in their spending intentions.

"Recent events such as the floods and the turmoil in the financial markets may also be having something of an impact on their sentiment."

But she added that the unexpectedly large fall in inflation, and the recent turmoil caused by the credit crunch, means it is now much less likely that the MPC will increase interest rates.

Despite their overall pessimism, people's expectations for house price growth rose slightly during August, with people now expecting the cost of the average house to rise by 3.8% during the coming six months, up from 2.7% in July.

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