Consumer Comfort in U.S. Falls to Lowest Level of the Year
Consumer confidence declined in the last week of February to the lowest level of the year as Americans’ perceptions about the U.S. economy and the buying climate waned.
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell to 43.6 during the period ended Feb. 28 from 44.2 the prior week. A measure of whether it’s a good time to spend posted its weakest reading in six weeks.
Steady hiring, gradual wage gains and still-low gasoline prices are helping underpin households’ attitudes about their financial situation. The comfort gauge has been stuck in a 1-point range since the end of 2015 as optimism is constrained by uncertainty surrounding weak global markets and a pickup in core inflation.
"The latest personal income and outlays report indicated stronger-than-expected consumer spending fueled by increased wages last month, " said Gary Langer, president of the New York-based Langer Research Associates LLC, which compiles the data for Bloomberg. "But core inflation also rose more than anticipated."
Consumer prices, excluding food and fuel, rose 0.3 percent in January, the most since 2012, figures from the Commerce Department showed Friday.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-03/consumer-comfort-in-u-s-falls-to-lowest-level-of-the-year
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