Consumer confidence slips a bit

After rising to 70.1 in September from 67.9 in August, the October UoM consumer confidence index fell to 68.9. Both Current Conditions and the Expectation components fell m/o/m. One year inflation expectations bounced to 2.9% from 2.7% and back to where it was in July. The main reason for the lift was the rise in expectations for higher gasoline prices after the recent drop. The 5-10 yr guess was 3% vs 3.1% in the month before.

The employment component improved by 3 pts to a 6 month high but income went into negative territory with more people expecting ‘lower income’ than ‘higher income.’

With spending intentions, while mortgage rates have done nothing but go up since the Fed cut short rates, there was a 9 pt rise in ‘Good Time to Buy a House’ and a 3 pt increase in ‘Good Time to Buy a Vehicle.’ There was a 1 pt gain in the major household category.

Some comments from the UoM: