Consumer optimism edges downward
Consumer confidence slipped in early February erasing gains made in January, according to a monthly index of U.S. consumer sentiment.
The report from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan cites renewed concerns over employment and wage growth, as well as a diminished outlook on the domestic economy.
Even with these concerns and resulting decline to December’s levels, the index shows far more confidence than in the 2008 through2012 recessionary period.
Residents of the Northeast and Mideast were the least optimistic in early February, according to the index, while residents of the South posted modest increases. Also, while lower gas prices have helped, especially in lower-income households, consumers do not expect the windfall at the pump to last.
“The small reversals in early February are hardly sufficient to alter last month’s more favorable forecast that real personal consumption expenditures will grow by 3.3 percent in 2015,” the report said.
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