U.S. Consumer Confidence Declines Sharply In February

According to Odaily, consumer confidence in the United States experienced a significant decline in February, with pessimism about the future resurfacing. Data from the Conference Board revealed that the consumer confidence index fell by 7 points to 98.3, while the expectations index dropped by 9.3 points to 72.9. This marks the first time since June 2024 that the expectations index has fallen below the recession-indicating threshold of 80. Stephanie Guichard, a senior economist at the Conference Board, noted that February's consumer confidence index recorded the largest monthly decline since August 2021. This marks the third consecutive month of a month-on-month decrease, bringing the index to its lowest range since 2022. Among the five components, only consumers' assessment of current business conditions showed slight improvement. However, consumers have become pessimistic about the future business environment, and optimism about future income has also decreased. The pessimism regarding future employment prospects has reached a ten-month high. Guichard added that the 12-month average inflation expectation surged from 5.2% to 6% in February. Although mentions of inflation and general prices remain high in survey responses, the focus has shifted to other topics. Mentions of trade and tariffs have risen sharply, returning to levels not seen since 2019.