U.S. Consumer Confidence Tumbles Much More Than Expected In February

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday showed a significant deterioration by U.S. consumer confidence in the month of February.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index tumbled to 98.3 in February from an upwardly revised 105.3 in January.

Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to dip to 103.0 from the 104.1 originally reported for the previous month.

Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board, noted the consumer confidence index saw its largest monthly decline since August 2021.

"This is the third consecutive month on month decline, bringing the Index to the bottom of the range that has prevailed since 2022," said Guichard. "Of the five components of the Index, only consumers' assessment of present business conditions improved, albeit slightly."

She added, "Average 12-month inflation expectations surged from 5.2% to 6% in February. This increase likely reflected a mix of factors, including sticky inflation but also the recent jump in prices of key household staples like eggs and the expected impact of tariffs."

The report also said the present situation index, which is based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions, fell to 136.5 in February from 139.9 in January.

The expectations index, which is based on consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, also slumped to 72.9 in February from 82.2 in January.

For the first time since June 2024, the expectations index was below the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead, the Conference Board said.