(Washington) Consumer confidence deteriorated in the United States in October, according to the final estimate published Friday by the University of Michigan, between a decline in stock market values, inflation and uncertainties linked to current events both at international than in the country.
The index fell to 63.8 points, compared to 67.9 in September, but it recovered slightly compared to the preliminary estimate, published in the middle of the month and which expected a stronger deterioration, to 63.0 points. It is also better than the 63.1 points that were expected by analysts, according to the Briefing.com consensus.
“This decline is largely driven by higher-income consumers and those with large stock portfolios, consistent with recent stock market weakness,” survey director Joanne Hsu said. , quoted in a press release.
Consumers across all income levels reported “ongoing concerns about inflation and, to a lesser extent, uncertainty about news both domestically and abroad,” a she added.
In detail, the index measuring the perception of the current situation fell by 0.7% compared to September, to 70.6 points.
Consumers, on the other hand, are much more pessimistic for the months to come, since the index measuring expectations plunges by 9.9%, falling to 59.3 points.
Inflation remained stable in September in the United States, for the third month in a row, at 3.4% over one year and 0.4% over one month, according to the PCE index, the gauge favored by the Fed , released Friday by the Commerce Department.
Another measure of inflation, the CPI index, on which pensions are indexed in particular, showed a stable price increase over one year in September, at 3.7%, but slowing down over one month, for the first time. times since May.