Consumer Confidence Turned Back

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 2/4/2008 12:00:00 AM

New York —

Consumer confidence, which showed some bounce in December, slipped back in January, The Conference Board reported.

The Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 87.9 (1985=100), down from 90.6 in December. In related measures, the Expectations Index declined to 69.6 from 75.8, but the Present Situation Index increased to 115.3 from 112.9 in December.

Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said, "Consumers' appraisal of current business conditions is becoming more negative and their assessment of the job market, while slightly less negative than in December, is more negative than a year ago."

"Looking ahead, consumers are quite downbeat about the short-term future and a greater proportion expect business conditions and employment to deteriorate further in the months ahead," Franco continued. "In addition, the percentage of consumers anticipating an improvement in their earnings has declined and could potentially impact spending decisions."