U.S. Consumer Confidence Index Decreases From Upwardly Revised Level
(RTTNews) - The Conference Board released a report on Tuesday showing its U.S. consumer confidence index decreased from a notably upwardly revised level in January.
The report said the consumer confidence index slid to 104.1 in January from an upwardly revised 109.5 in December.
Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to climb to 106.3 from the 104.7 originally reported for the previous month.
"Consumer confidence has been moving sideways in a relatively stable, narrow range since 2022. January was no exception said Dana M. Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board. "The Index weakened for a second straight month, but still remained in that range, even if in the lower part."
The Conference Board said the present situation index, which is based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions, tumbled to 134.3 in January from 144.0 in December.
"Notably, views of current labor market conditions fell for the first time since September, while assessments of business conditions weakened for the second month in a row," said Peterson.
"Meanwhile, consumers were also less optimistic about future business conditions and, to a lesser extent, income," she added. "The return of pessimism about future employment prospects seen in December was confirmed in January."
The report said the expectations index, which is based on consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, dipped to 83.9 in January from 86.5 in December.