U.S. Consumer Confidence Edges Modestly Lower In October

(RTTNews) - Consumer confidence in the U.S. saw a modest deterioration in the month of October, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index dipped to 94.6 in October from an upwardly revised 95.6 in September.

Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to slip to 93.4 from the 94.2 originally reported for the previous month.

"Consumers' write-in responses were led by references to prices and inflation, which continued to be the main topic influencing consumers' views of the economy," said Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board.

"The write-in comments remained mostly negative overall, but less so than in previous months," she added. "References to US politics were up notably, with the ongoing government shutdown mentioned multiple times as a key concern."

The modest decrease by the headline index came as the expectations index slid to 71.5 in October from 74.4 in September, falling further below the threshold of 80 that typically signals a recession ahead.

Meanwhile, the Conference Board said the present situation index climbed to 129.3 in October from 127.5 in September.

"The Present Situation Index regained some strength after September's drop," Guichard said. "Consumers' view of current business conditions inched upward, while their appraisal of current job availability improved for the first time since December 2024."

"On the other hand, all three components of the Expectations Index weakened somewhat," she continued. "Consumers were a bit more pessimistic about future job availability and future business conditions while optimism about future income retreated slightly."

Revised data released by the University of Michigan last Friday showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. deteriorated by more than initially estimated in the month of October.

The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index was downwardly revised to 53.6 from the preliminary reading of 55.0.

Economists had expected the consumer sentiment index to be unrevised from the preliminary reading, which was down slightly from 55.1 in September.