Americans’ confidence in the economy falls again and is at lowest level since summer
The numbers: The confidence Americans really feel in the economy fell for the second month in a row and touched the lowest level since final summer, maybe an indication that worries about the 9 1/2-year U.S. enlargement have unfold from Wall Street to Main Street.
The shopper confidence index dropped to 128.1 this month from a revised 136.4 in November, the Conference Board said Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 133.3 studying.
Confidence is now at its lowest ebb since July, placing the index virtually 10 factors under an 18-year peak set in October.
What occurred: Consumer confidence doesn’t take its cues straight from what’s occurring on Wall Street, however the stock market’s plunge in the previous few months is doubtless reshaping how Americans view the economy.
Wall Street jitters about the U.S. economy may also be weighing on the minds of Americans. Most economists predict the U.S. will sluggish in 2019 as latest authorities stimulus recedes and the Federal Reserve raises rates of interest.
The present state of affairs index, a measure of how Americans view the economy proper now, slipped to 171.6 from 172.7.
The larger fear is about 2019. The future expectations index — what Americans suppose the economy will seem like six months from now — sank to 99.1 from 112.3. That’s the lowest studying since October 2016 — the month earlier than Donald Trump received the presidential election.
Also learn: Bridge to nowhere? Some doubts on economy justified, doom and gloom is not
Big image: The economy is doing nicely by most measures, however an enormous drop in the U.S. stock market over the previous few months has dampened a few of the enthusiasm. The Federal Reserve is additionally elevating rates of interest, a course of that tends to sluggish key segments of the economy equivalent to housing.
What’s extra, Investors are fearful about an ongoing U.S. commerce battle with China and a slowing international economy. The newest drop in shopper confidence received’t provide any comfort.
Market response: The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, +1.14%
and S&P 500
SPX, +0.86%
rose again on Thursday, a day after an enormous 1,000-point rally in the Dow that was triggered by the White House’s backing off of criticism of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Markets sank as a lot as 600 factors earlier in the day however recovered in the ultimate hour.
The 10-year Treasury yield
TMUBMUSD10Y, -0.30%
slipped to 2.75%. Yields have tumbled from a seven-year excessive of just about 3.25% in October.
