Pessimism pervades U.S. consumers

Confidence among U.S. consumers declined sharply in October as Americans continued to grow more pessimistic about the prospects for the economy.
OCT 31, 2008
By  Bloomberg
Confidence among U.S. consumers declined sharply in October as Americans continued to grow more pessimistic about the prospects for the economy. The Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment fell to 57.6, from 70.3 in September. The index had posted a preliminary October reading of 57.5. Analysts surveyed by briefing.com were expecting an October reading of 52. From the index’s cyclical peak in January 2007, it fell 41% through October. "Consumer confidence had already declined by mid-2008 by more than [than it had before] any past recession, and the steep October loss indicates that accelerated cutbacks in spending can be expected during the months ahead," Richard Curtin, director of the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, said in a statement. The expectations index fell to a reading of 57 in October, down from readings of 67.2 in September and 70.1 last October. "Consumers held the least favorable assessments of their finances in more than a half century and viewed their job prospects more negatively than at any other time since the end of 1980," Mr. Curtin said in a statement. Thomson Reuters is based in New York, and the University of Michigan is in Ann Arbor.

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