The Conference Board, a business research group, said Thursday that its consumer confidence index fell to 128.1 in December, down from 136.4 in November and lowest since July. The index measures consumers’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months.
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index registered 107.1 in November, up from 100.8 last month. Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions was also the sunniest since July 2007. Their expectations for the next six months were the most optimistic since June 2015.
Consumer confidence reached its most favorable level in the December 2014 survey since the last cyclical peak was set in January 2007, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. Overall, the data point toward a gain of about 3% in real consumer expenditures during 2015.
Retail sales and low mortgage rates spurred Americans to boost their buying plans, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey.. But concerns about rising food prices caused a jump in both short- and long-term inflation expectations, the survey also found.
The Conference Board, a private research group, said on Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 64.9, down from a revised 68.7 in April. With gas prices falling, Americans were expected to push the measure to 70, according to analysts polled by FactSet.
Exclusives
In Time For Holidays: A Bad Economic Mood
Consumer confidence fell in October to the lowest since March 2009, reflecting the big hit that the stock market took this summer and frustration with an economic recovery that doesn’t really feel like one.
