Global| Mar 25 2008Consumer Confidence Fell Sharply
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The Conference Board reported today that consumer confidence in March again fell sharply. The 15.6% m/m decline to a reading of 64.5 followed February's 12.4% drop. It was the sharpest two month decline since late 1991. A consensus of [...]
The Conference Board reported today that consumer confidence
in March again fell sharply. The 15.6% m/m decline to a reading of 64.5
followed February's 12.4% drop. It was the sharpest two month decline
since late 1991. A consensus of economists foresaw less of a decline in
March to a level of 73.8.
The expectations component of the index fell 17.4% m/m and dropped the level to its lowest since the 1970s. Expectations for business conditions and for income dropped sharply while expectations for the inflation rate surged to 6.1%, its highest since 2005.
Respondents planning to buy a household appliance dropped sharply.
The present conditions index also fell a sharp 14.2% m/m to the lowest level since mid 2004.
Just 15.4% of respondents saw business conditions as good, the lowest since 2003. Jobs as plentiful were seen by 18.8% while 25.1% saw them as hard to get, the highest since mid 2005.
| Conference Board (SA, 1985=100) | March | February | Y/Y % | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Confidence Index | 64.5 | 76.4 | -40.4 | 103.4 | 105.9 | 100.3 |
| Present Situation | 89.2 | 104.0 | -35.6 | 128.8 | 130.2 | 116.1 |
| Expectations | 47.9 | 58.0 | -45.5 | 86.4 | 89.7 | 89.7 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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