The Conference Board reported on Tuesday its U.S. consumer confidence dropped
0.6 points to 110.5 in February from a downwardly revised 111.1 (from 113.8) in January.
This was the lowest reading in three months.
Economists had foreseen consumer confidence to come in at 110.0.
The details of the survey revealed that the decline in the headline
index was due to a drop in the expectations index, which dropped 1.3 points to 87.5
this month. Meanwhile, the present situation index increased 0.6 points to 145.1.
Commenting on the results of the last survey, Lynn Franco, Senior
Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, said that the second
straight monthly decline in consumer confidence reflected a further deterioration
of expectations about short-term growth prospects, pointing to a possible
moderation in spending activity in the first half of the year. Franco also noted that inflation
concerns rose again this month, after posting back-to-back decreases. Despite
this, however, the consumers remained relatively confident about short-term
growth prospects.