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Consumer Confidence Falls for Second Consecutive Month
December 22, 2020
Consumer confidence fell for the second straight month in December, despite the coronavirus vaccine beginning its rollout. Economists have taken the decline as another sign that the economic recovery may be losing momentum amid surging coronavirus numbers and additional lockdown measures and business restrictions.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to 88.6, down from 92.9 in November. This marks the lowest level for the index since August. Economists had expected an increase to 97. For comparison’s sake, the index was at 132.6 in February before the pandemic began.
The index’s fall was primarily led by consumers’ worsening view of current labor and business conditions. The component that tracks this tumbled to 90.3 from 105.9 November. One positive note is that consumers’ short-term expectations increased from 84.3 to 87.5.
