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. 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.