Consumer confidence drops to all-time low
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, January 4, 2009
NEW YORK — Consumer confidence fell to a new all-time low in December, the Conference Board reported last week.
The research group's Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased moderately in November, fell to 38.0, down from 44.7 in November (1985=100).
The Present Situation Index plummeted to 29.4 from 42.3 last month. The Expectations Index decreased to 43.8 from 46.2 in November.
“The further erosion of the Consumer Confidence Index reflects the rapid and steep deterioration of economic conditions that occurred in the fourth quarter of 2008,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center.
“The Present Situation Index is now close to levels last seen in the months following the 1990-91 recession, but is not as low as levels reached during the 1981-82 recession. Declines in the Expectations Index appear to be moderating, but this index continues to hover at historical lows. Both sub-indexes bear careful watching over the next several months to see if they are starting to show signs of approaching a bottom.
“In the meantime, however, the overall economic outlook remains quite dismal for the first half of 2009, and only a modest recovery is expected in the second half,” she said.
The survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was Dec. 22.
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