US consumer confidence declined in early January to the second lowest level in a decade as households worried about rising inflation and doubting the ability of the government’s economic policies to correct it, a survey showed on Friday. thursday (14th).
The University of Michigan said its preliminary reading of its consumer confidence index dropped to 68.8 in the first half of this month from a final reading of 70.6 in December.
Low-income households had a more negative outlook than wealthier ones, with sentiment down 9.4% among households with total incomes below $100,000, but up 5.7% among households above of that limit.
Economists polled by Reuters had predicted a smaller drop to 70.0.
The sharper-than-expected pullback in sentiment comes as Americans face multiple headwinds despite a strong overall economy, with inflation topping the list of concerns amid a record level of Covid cases. -19 due to the Ômicron variant which in turn can prolong high prices.
“While the Delta and Omicron variants certainly contributed to this downward shift (in confidence), the decline was also due to a rising inflation rate,” Richard Curtin, director of the research, said in a statement.
“Three-quarters of consumers in early January rated inflation, compared to unemployment, as the most serious problem facing the nation,” he added.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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