The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell by 5.4 points in January to 104.1, a dip from December’s revised reading of 109.5. The revision marked a 4.8-point increase from the preliminary December figure but still reflected a decline of 3.3 points from November.
The Present Situation Index, which gauges consumers’ views of current business and labor conditions, plummeted by 9.7 points to 134.3 in January. Meanwhile, the Expectations Index, measuring short-term outlooks for income, business and labor market conditions, dropped 2.6 points to 83.9. Despite this decline, the Expectations Index remained above the key threshold of 80, which typically signals recession concerns.
“All five components of the Index deteriorated, with the largest drop in consumers’ assessments of the current labor major,” said Dana M. Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board.
Inflation expectations ticked up slightly, rising from 5.1% in December to 5.3% in January. Over half, 51.4%, of consumers expect higher interest rates in the next 12 months. Consumer buying intentions remained stable for homes and cars, while services spending, particularly dining and streaming, showed continued growth.
