U.S. Consumer Confidence Dips From Upwardly Revised Level

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday showed U.S. consumer confidence dipped from an upwardly revised level in the month of December.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index edged down to 126.5 in December from an upwardly revised 126.8 in November.

Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to rise to 128.2 from the 125.5 originally reported for the previous month.

"While consumers' assessment of current conditions improved, their expectations declined, driven primarily by a softening in their short-term outlook regarding jobs and financial prospects," said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at the Conference Board.

She added, "While the economy hasn't shown signs of further weakening, there is little to suggest that growth, and in particular consumer spending, will gain momentum in early 2020."

The report said the expectations index slid to 97.4 in December from 100.3 in November, as consumers were moderately less upbeat about the short-term outlook.

The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months inched up to 18.9 percent from 18.6 percent, while those expecting conditions will worsen fell to 9.3 percent from 11.4 percent.

The Conference Board said the outlook for the labor market was mixed, with consumers expecting more jobs in the months ahead dropping to 15.3 percent from 16.5 percent and those anticipating fewer jobs rising to 14.9 percent from 13.4 percent.

Consumers expecting an improvement in their short-term income prospects declined to 21.1 percent from 22.9 percent, while those expecting a decrease rose to 7.7 percent from 6.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the present situation index climbed to 170.0 in December from 166.6 in November, reflecting an improvement in consumers' appraisal of current-day conditions.

The percentage of consumers claiming business conditions are "good" was virtually unchanged at 38.7 percent, while those claiming conditions are "bad" decreased to 11.1 percent from 13.6 percent.

Consumers' assessment of the job market was mixed, as those saying jobs are "plentiful" rose to 47.0 percent from 44.0 percent, but those claiming jobs are "hard to get" also crept up to 13.1 percent from 12.4 percent.