U.S economy shows no sign of growth as the consumer confidence index drops to 126.5

The Conference Board revealed the U.S Consumer Confidence on Tuesday that showed a slighted decline in December. Following a slight increment in November to 126.8, December has brought the index back to 126.5. Analysts were expecting the consumer confidence index to record a much higher 128.0 in December.

The Increase In The Present Situation Index Was Offset By The Decline In The Expectations Index

As per the report, the Present Situation index saw an increase from 166.6 in November to 170.0 in December. The Expectations Index, on the other hand, declined from last month’s 100.3 to 97.4 in December.

In a comment following the economic data, the Conference Board stated that there are currently no signs which hint at further weakening in the U.S economy. The signals for growth in 2020 or improvement in consumer spending, the board added, are also missing for the upcoming year.

According to the survey, consumers were seen optimistic about the current-day conditions this month. While those who voted the current business conditions as good remained unchanged at 38.7% in December, consumers holding a negative opinion about the current business conditions declined from last month’s 13.6% to 11.1% in December.

Consumers’ outlook on the job market was somewhat undecided. 47% versus November’s 44% voted the current job opportunities to be plentiful. On the other hand, consumers who thought that the current job market isn’t providing sufficient opportunities also hiked from 12.4% in November to 13.1% this month.

The positivity, as per the report, was not mirrored to the same extent in the short-term outlook of the U.S consumers. The survey highlighted that 18.9% of the consumers are positive that the business conditions are likely to improve in the upcoming six months. In November, this figure was capped at 18.6%. Those who voted the business conditions to likely get more unpleasant in the same period dropped from 11.4% last month to 9.3% in December.

The Conference Board Announced Mixed Views Regarding The Labor Market

The labor market was met with mixed views as per December’s economic data as well. 15.3% of the consumers expressed confidence that they’ll see more jobs in the upcoming six months. In November, the figure was printed at a higher 16.5% instead. On the other hand, 14.9% voted for the jobs to get scarcer in the next six months while the figure was capped at 13.4% in November.

In terms of income prospects (short-term), 21.1% of the consumers, declined from November’s 22.9%, expected an improvement in December while those expecting it to get worse in the upcoming months were noted at a higher 7.7% compared to 6.2% in November.

The forex market responded moderately to the economic data with EUR/USD dropping from a daily high of around 1.1240 to 1.1215.