EmailAfter two months of near double-digit gains, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell from 64.8 in December to 61.1 in January. The Briefing.com consensus expected the index to increase to 67.0.
The present conditions index declined from 46.5 in December to 38.4 in January. The expectations index dipped to 76.2 in January from 77.0 in December.
The drop in confidence in January is strange. Typically, consumer confidence follows trends in equity prices, gasoline prices, employment gains, and media reports.
Given the substantial strengthening in the labor sector over the last few weeks -- initial claims fell to three-year lows -- and the upward trend in equity prices, consumer confidence should have increased in January. The fact that confidence fell could mean consumers do not believe the recent economic gains are long lasting. It will take additional declines in coming months to substantiate that view, knowing consumer attitudes can be quite fickle from one month to the next.
