2023.10.3115:09:00UTC+00U.S. Consumer Confidence Shows Moderate Deterioration In October

The Conference Board released a report on Tuesday showing a moderate deterioration in U.S. consumer confidence in the month of October.

The report said the consumer confidence index slipped to 102.6 in October from an upwardly revised 104.3 in September.

Economists had expected the consumer confidence to decrease to 100.0 from the 103.0 originally reported for the previous month.

"Write-in responses showed that consumers continued to be preoccupied with rising prices in general, and for grocery and gasoline prices in particular," said Dana Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board.

"Consumers also expressed concerns about the political situation and higher interest rates," she added. "Worries around war/conflicts also rose, amid the recent turmoil in the Middle East."

Peterson noted the continued decrease by the headline index reflected pullbacks by both the present situation index and the expectations index.

The report said the present situation index fell to 143.1 in October from 146.2 in September, while the expectations index edged down to 75.6 in October from 76.4 in September.

"Assessments of the present situation were driven by less optimistic views on the state of business conditions, but consumers' rating of current job availability held steady," said Peterson.

She added, "Expectations for the next six months stayed below the recession threshold of 80, reflecting a decline in confidence about future business conditions, job availability, and incomes."