NEW YORK – United States consumer confidence slumped in December to the lowest level in five months as expectations deteriorated, the latest sign Americans are growing less optimistic as stock markets gyrate and the expansion moderates.
The confidence index decreased to 128.1 from 136.4, according to a report Thursday from the New York-based Conference Board. That fell below every estimate in Bloomberg’s survey of economists, which called for 133.5. The measure gauging consumer expectations fell to a two-year low while Americans’ views on present conditions fell slightly.
Optimism is eroding after months of rising uncertainty about the trade war and President Donald Trump’s attacks on the Federal Reserve, which have whipsawed financial markets. That’s been accompanied by a weakening economic outlook for next year amid fresh signs that the U.S. housing market is cooling and the manufacturing sector is starting to falter.
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index’s monthly expectations gauge fell to a one-year low in December as more respondents said the economy is getting worse. Meanwhile, the weekly comfort measure, released earlier Thursday, rebounded somewhat from a three-month low.
Jeff Kearns and Shobhana Chandra are reporters for Bloomberg News.