US Consumer Confidence Drops to 81.9 in September, Missing 89.0 Forecast
The Conference Board's index fell for a third straight month as both the present situation and expectations gauges weakened
Published
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 81.9 in September, well short of the 89.0 economists had expected. August's reading was revised down to 88.6 from 89.4, the Conference Board said.
The decline was broad. The Present Situation Index dropped 7.9 points to 109.3, and the Expectations Index fell 5.9 points to 63.6, its third consecutive monthly decline, according to the Conference Board.
Dana M. Peterson, the Conference Board's chief economist, said the index "deteriorated notably in September, following two prior months of softening." The Conference Board said the survey period, September 1 to 23, included a federal funds rate hike and ongoing geopolitical tensions.
A miss of this size, against a reading that was already running below its historical average, points to a consumer pulling back faster than economists have been modeling. That raises the risk that spending data cools in coming months, with knock-on pressure for retailers and other consumer discretionary companies. A weaker consumer also strengthens the case for the Federal Reserve to ease policy further, though markets are likely to treat the data as a sign that growth is losing momentum rather than as straightforward good news. The net read is bearish for growth-sensitive stocks and modestly supportive of bets on further rate cuts.