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WASHINGTON : US consumer confidence weakened for the fourth month in a row in November to its lowest level in more than two years amid uncertainty about the US economy, the Conference Board said on Tuesday.
The private business research group said its consumer confidence index fell to 87.3 points, from a revised 95.2 points in October.
The drop in consumer confidence was much steeper than the Wall Street consensus forecast of a 91.5-point reading.
The index is at its lowest level since October 2005, when it stood at 85.2 points, Lynn Franco, the Conference Board's research director, told AFP.
The October index reading was revised slightly lower to 95.2 points from a previous estimate of 95.6 points.
The Conference Board's confidence index is closely watched by the markets as an indicator of consumer spending, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of US economic activity.
The two sub-indexes in the Conference Board survey also slumped.
Consumers' assessment of present conditions dropped to 115.4 points from 118.0 points in October.
The forward-looking sub-index that measures expectations for the next six months plunged in November to 68.7 points from 80.0 points in October.
"This month's deterioration in confidence was due primarily to the sharp decline in the Expectations Index," Franco said in a Conference Board statement.
Consumers anticipating business conditions to worsen increased to 16.7 percent from 13.9 percent, and those expecting them to improve declined to 12.4 percent from 14.0 percent.
On present conditions, consumers claiming conditions are "good" decreased to 22.3 percent from 23.2 percent. Those saying conditions are "bad" increased to 19.1 percent from 16.6 percent.
"Consumers' apprehension about the short-term outlook is being fuelled by volatility in financial markets, rising prices at the (gasoline) pump and the likelihood of larger home heating bills this winter," Franco said.
"Despite this rather bleak outlook, consumers have not lost their holiday spirit and anticipate spending more on gifts this season than they did last Christmas," Franco said.
Their outlook on the job market also dimmed, with 23.2 percent saying jobs were "plentiful," down from 24.1 percent in October.
Looking ahead, consumers expected the US economic situation to deteriorate further, up 16.7 percent from 13.9 percent in October, and hiring to decline, 23.1 percent against 20.2 percent.
"In fact, consumers' inflation expectations have surpassed the spike experienced this spring and a larger percentage than last month expect stock prices to decline."
The report was based on a survey of 5,000 US households through November 19. - AFP/de
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