US consumer confidence tumbles to lowest level since April

Consumer confidence fell in the United States in November as people worried about their finances and jobs, likely as a result of the government shutdown that has just ended.

The consumer confidence index, which was revised upward from a 95.5 in October to its lowest reading since April, dropped to 88.7 this month, according to the Conference Board.

The index was projected to fall from the previously reported 94.6 in October to 93.4 according to a poll conducted by the Reuters news agency.

According to Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, “consumers’ write-in responses pertaining to factors affecting the economy continued to be dominated by references to prices and inflation, tariffs and trade, and politics with more mentions of the federal government shutdown.”

“Mentions of the labor market slowed a little, but they still stood out among all other frequently cited themes.” November write-ins had a slightly negative tone overall than October write-ins.

Consumer confidence remained low for everyone in the income range. Even though consumer confidence in those making less than $15, 000 per year increased slightly, the lowest consumer confidence group remained.

Despite a labor market contraction, the consumer confidence report was released. The US economy was boosted by the unemployment rate’s rise of 0.1%, or 0.4 percent, according to the September jobs report, which was released late last week.

Due to the government shutdown, which was the longest in US history, which prevented federal agencies from gathering the information needed to assess current conditions, the amount of economic data is only partially available.

More worries about the things that are in store, which is why BMO’s senior economist, Jennifer Lee, wrote to Reuters.

The recent policymakers’ dovish comments, which helped cement the expectation of a rate cut, were followed by the economic data.