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February 26, 2008
Consumer Confidence Falls
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer confidence fell to a five-year low in February and expectations slumped to a 17-year trough in a tightening jobs market, a new survey showed, fueling fears the economy was already in recession.
The Conference Board said on Tuesday its index of consumer sentiment fell to 75.0 in February from a downwardly revised 87.3 in January, originally reported as 87.9.
The median forecast of 67 economists polled by Reuters was for a reading of 82.0.
The present situation index fell to 100.6 from a downwardly revised 114.3 in January, while the expectations index fell to 57.9 -- its lowest in 17 years -- from a downwardly revised 69.3.
The deterioration in sentiment was pronounced.
It was the biggest monthly drop in the consumer confidence and expectations indexes since September 2005, following Hurricane Katrina. The present situation index saw its biggest tumble since October 2001, the last time the United States was in recession.
Sentiment was hurt by a worsening view of the jobs market. The measure of "jobs hard to get" rose to 23.8 in February -- its highest since October 2005 -- from 20.6 in January.
Posted by Post Scripts at February 26, 2008 08:26 AM