- Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board
Consumer confidence declined in February as households grew more worried about the outlook for the economy and jobs, sending their inflation outlook to the lowest level in nine years. The Conference Board's sentiment index dropped to 92.2 this month, hitting the weakest since July, down from a revised 97.8 in January. The gauge measuring current conditions slid to 112.1, compared with 116.6 in January. The share of people saying that jobs were plentiful slipped to 22.1% from 23%, while the proportion of Americans viewing business conditions as unfavourable climbed to 19.8% from 18.8%. The measure of consumer expectations for the next six months slumped to 78.9, the lowest level since February 2014, from 85.3 in a month earlier. Respondents' inflation expectations over the next 12 months fell to 4.7%, the lowest since February 2007, from 4.8%.
A separate report showed US home resales unexpectedly increased in January, hitting the highest level in six months, adding to signs that the world's number one economy remains on firmer footing despite slowing global growth and tightening financial market conditions. According to the National Association of Realtors, existing home sales climbed 0.4% to an annual rate of 5.47 million units, while January's figure was also the second highest since 2007. US home resales were up 11% from a year ago, the largest annual gain since July 2013.
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