U.S. consumer comfort suffered its biggest weekly decline in more than eight years on a pullback in Americans’ assessments of the economy, personal finances and the buying climate, possibly signaling more moderate household spending approaching the holiday-shopping season.
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell 2.4 points, the most since March 2011, to 61 in the week ended Oct. 27. The decrease, led by those earning less than $50,000 a year, left the measure at its lowest point since May. The gauge of confidence in personal finances declined to the lowest level since mid-May, while the index of views about the economy fell the most since July 2017.
Consumer comfort among respondents who earn less than $50,000 annually slid by the most in records back to 2010, while sentiment of those earning more was little changed. The figures extend a period of volatility in several measures of confidence that began in August and raise questions about the durability of consumer spending that’s been the economy’s chief source of strength.
The government’s gross domestic product report on Wednesday showed that while personal spending expanded at a more-than-forecast 2.9% annualized pace in the third quarter, the gain was a step down from the 4.6% rate registered in the previous three months.
Conference Board data on Tuesday showed its measure of consumer confidence unexpectedly declined to a four-month low in October, while the latest University of Michigan sentiment gauge advanced to a three-month high. Slower job growth is likely playing a role in the more-subdued confidence readings, at the same time higher stock prices are keeping optimism elevated among those at the upper end of the income scale.
The latest comfort report showed confidence among Americans earning more than $50,000 exceeded that of those making less by the biggest margin since September 2018.
The comfort gauge of the buying climate also fell last week from the highest level in records back to 1985.
This article provided by Bloomberg News.