Decline in Consumer Confidence

The Conference Board reported on Tuesday that US consumer confidence continued to be “quite grim.” The monthly gauge moved down to its lowest since February, to 48.5 in September.

Director of the Conference Board's consumer research center, Lynn Franco said, “September's pullback in confidence was due to less favorable business and labor market conditions, coupled with a more pessimistic short-term outlook.” She added, “With so few expecting conditions to improve in the near term, the pace of economic growth is not likely to pick up in the coming months.”

Economists were expecting a September figure of 51.5. August confidence was revised from 53.5 to 53.2.

Consumers' assessment of ongoing conditions dropped from 24.9 to 23.1. This was the lowest since February.

Consumers planning to buy homes within six months were down from 2.1% in August to 1.9% in September, but those who planned to purchase major appliances advanced from 24.6% to 27.5%.

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