Inflation, looming trade war take a toll as confidence of the U.S. consumer tumbles
Photo: Shoppers pass by a dining room set on display in a Costco warehouse Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Sheridan, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence plummeted in February, the biggest monthly decline in more than four years, a business research group said Tuesday, with inflation seemingly stuck and a trade war under President Donald Trump seen by a growing number of Americans as inevitable.
The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index sank this month to 98.3 from 105.3 in January. That’s far below the expectations of economists, who projected a reading of 103, according to a survey by FactSet.
The seven-point drop was the biggest month-to-month decline since August of 2021.
Markets on Wall Street immediately dropped. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% in midday trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat. The Nasdaq declined 1.1%.
Respondents to the board’s survey expressed concern over inflation with a significant increase in mentions of trade and tariffs, the board said.
The Conference Board’s report Tuesday said that the measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.3 points to 72.9. The Conference Board says a reading under 80 can signal a potential recession in the near future.
The proportion of consumers expecting a recession over the next year jumped to a nine-month high, the board said.
Consumers’ view of current conditions tumbled 3.4 points to a reading of 136.5 this month and views on current labor market conditions fell again.
“Views of current labor market conditions weakened,” the group said Tuesday. “Consumers became pessimistic about future business conditions and less optimistic about future income. Pessimism about future employment prospects worsened and reached a ten-month high.”
Consumers appeared increasingly confident heading into the end of 2024 and spent generously during the holiday season. However, U.S. retail sales dropped sharply in January.
Retail sales fell 0.9% last month from December, the Commerce Department reported last week. The decline, the biggest in a year, came after two months of healthy gains.
Inflation has also remained sticky. So much so that the Federal Reserve has taken a more cautious approach to interest rates, leaving its benchmark borrowing rate alone at its last meeting after cutting it at the previous three. Fed officials have also expressed uncertainty over the new administration’s policies.
The most recent economic data and a pessimistic turn among American households does not bode well for the U.S. economy, experts say.
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U.S. consumer confidence plummeted in February, the biggest monthly decline in more than four years, with inflation seemingly stuck and a trade war under President Donald Trump seen by a growing number of Americans as inevitable.
The seven-point drop was the biggest month-to-month decline since August of 2021.
As predicted by anyone with at least half a brain.
Markets on Wall Street immediately dropped. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% in midday trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat. The Nasdaq declined 1.1%.
Respondents to the board’s survey expressed concern over inflation with a significant increase in mentions of trade and tariffs, the board said.
Is anyone surprised? I'll bet that even Trump's worshippers on this site knew what was coming.
The proportion of consumers expecting a recession over the next year jumped to a nine-month high, the board said.
Fed officials have also expressed uncertainty over the new administration’s policies.
The Conference Board’s report Tuesday said that the measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.3 points to 72.9. The Conference Board says a reading under 80 can signal a potential recession in the near future.
And the reading is WAY UNDER 80, so awaaaaaay we gooooooooooooo...
As I believe i've mentioned, I spend some time watching the Stock Market every day. Just recently, the "smart money" has been mostly moving out of more speculative stocks and more into "safe havens". Its hasn't been long, but if this trend holds up it means "the big boys" (the big money) on The Street is anticipating at least an economic slowdown.
For the last two days I have been slowly moving some money out of the more speculative equities and into "safer" ones.
Save for what this all means for the part of my family that lives in the USA and those who voted for Harris, I really don't give much of a shit for what Trump has done to fuck America, but it bothers me that that isn't good enough for him, he wants to fuck the rest of the world as well.
Save for what this all means for the part of my family that lives in the USA
Depends upon how they've manged their money. (there are some investments that , in a big economic downturn, are safer than others).