WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) — The US consumer confidence index declined in the first month of the new year, according to data released Tuesday.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence fell to 107.1 in January, down slightly from 109 in the previous month.
“Consumer confidence declined in January, but it is still higher than the level seen last July, which is the lowest level in 2022,” said the institution’s chief economics director, Ataman Özeldirim, adding that “consumer confidence declined further for households with incomes of less than $15,000.” and families under the age of 35.
The Enterprise Present Situation Index, a measure of consumers’ assessment of business and business attitudes, rose to 150.9 from 147.4 last month.
However, the expectations index, a measure of consumers’ short-term views on income, business and business conditions, fell to 77.8 from 83.4 last month.
All of this comes at a time when economists are forecasting a possible recession in the second half of this year.
The data was released one day ahead of expectations that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates.