Consumers still sour on the economy

Consumer confidence has fallen, again. The measure, as calculated by the Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, dropped to 56.2 in February, from 61.2 in January, Reuters reported today. The decline is the largest since the index dropped 10 points from September to October last year. The index of current economic conditions, which evaluates consumer sentiment about current spending, rose to 67.1 from 66.5 last month. But the indicator for the forward-looking consumer expectations for the next six months dropped to 49.1, the lowest level since May 1980, Reuters said. The University of Michigan is located in Ann Arbor.