In a follow-up to October's positive Consumer Confidence trends, the Conference Board has announced that U.S. consumer confidence further advanced in November. The consumer confidence index reached 111.7, building on October's revised figure of 109.6. Economists had anticipated a rise to 112.3, slightly higher than the prior month's original recording of 108.7.
Dana M. Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board, commented, “Consumer confidence continued its upward trajectory in November, reaching the apex of its two-year range.” She attributed this increase primarily to heightened consumer perceptions of the current economic situation, especially within the labor market.
According to the report, the present situation index—evaluating current business and labor market conditions—escalated to 140.9 in November from October's 136.1. Meanwhile, the expectations index, reflecting consumers' short-term economic outlook, edged up modestly to 92.3 from 91.9 the prior month. The Conference Board highlighted that the expectations index remains comfortably above the critical threshold of 80, which often signals a looming recession.
Contrasting with this trend, data from the University of Michigan revealed that consumer sentiment in November was not as robust as initially suggested. Revised statistics placed the consumer sentiment index at 71.8, lower than the preliminary figure of 73.0. This revision was unexpected, with forecasts predicting an upward adjustment to 73.7. Nevertheless, the index remains above October's final score of 70.5 and holds its highest position since April's 77.2.
