U.S. Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Deteriorates In February

(RTTNews) - Reflecting persistent uncertainty about the U.S. economy, the Conference Board released a report on Tuesday showing an unexpected deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in the month of February.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slid to 106.7 in February from a downwardly revised 110.9 in January.

The decrease surprised economists, who had expected the consumer confidence index to inch up to 115.0 from the 114.8 originally reported for the previous month.

"The drop in confidence was broad-based, affecting all income groups except households earning less than $15,000 and those earning more than $125,000," said Dana Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board.

She added, "Confidence deteriorated for consumers under the age of 35 and those 55 and over, whereas it improved slightly for those aged 35 to 54."

The report also said the present situation index fell to 147.2 in February from 154.9 in January, as consumers' views of both business conditions and the employment situation became less favorable.

The expectations index also slipped to 79.8 in February from 81.5 in January, with a reading below 80 often signaling recession ahead.