Unemployment worries and the threat of war weighed on American consumer confidence in January, but not as much as analysts had feared, according to new data today.
The US Consumer Confidence Index fell to 79.0 in January from a revised 80.7 in December, the Conference Board, a private business research group, said today.
Although the index has now fallen for seven of the past eight months, the drop was more moderate than average forecasts for 78.1. Consumer confidence is closely watched by economists and businesses for clues about spending, which makes up two-thirds of the US economy.
Retailers have had one the worst Christmas holiday shopping seasons in three decades and all eyes are now on the consumer as businesses continue to shed workers and hold off on capital spending plans.
The Present Situation Index, a measure of consumers' current attitudes about the economy and their finances right now, rose to 75.4 in January from a revised 69.6 in December.
But the Expectations Index, a gauge of consumers' six-month outlook, fell nearly seven points to 81.4 from a revised 88.1.