US: UoM Consumer Confidence Index drops to 90.7 vs 97 expected

"Consumer sentiment declined in early January to its lowest level since Trump was elected," the University of Michigan said on Friday.

Key takeaways from the press release

• The decline was primarily focused on prospects for the domestic economy, with the year-ahead outlook for the national economy judged the worst since mid 2014.
• The loss was due to a host of issues including the partial government shutdown, the impact of tariffs, instabilities in financial markets, the global slowdown, and the lack of clarity about monetary policies.
• While the January falloff in optimism is certainly consistent with a slowdown in the pace of growth, it does not yet indicate the start of a sustained downturn in economic activity.
• Consumers now sense a need to buttress their precautionary savings, which is typically done by reducing their discretionary spending.
• Evolving job and wage prospects, which were slightly weaker in early January, are critical to extending the current expansion.

January (preliminary) results

• Index of Consumer Sentiment at 90.7 vs 98.3 in December.
• Index of Current Economic Conditions at 110 vs 116.1 in December.
• Index of Consumer Expectations at 78.3 vs 87 in December.