A new report shows that confidence among U.S. consumers dropped to a four-month low in January as assessments of current business and labor market conditions worsened. Despite this decline, household optimism about significant financial improvements over the next six months reached a record high, signaling a divergence between present concerns and future hopes for improvement under the Trump administration.
The Conference Board reported on Jan. 28 that its consumer confidence index fell by 5.4 points to 104.1 in January, marking the second consecutive month of decline and the lowest reading in four months. While all five components of the confidence index deteriorated, the present situation gauge—which is based on consumers’ evaluation of current business and labor market conditions—experienced the sharpest drop, falling by 9.7 points….