Conference Board Confidence Slumps In November As Hope Nears 5-Year-Low

Having ramped back up to pre-COVID levels in June, Conference Board Consumer Confidence has drifted broadly lower since, and analysts expected November to show a renewed downturn after a brief surprise upturn in October and they were right as the headline confidence printed 109.5, below expectations of 110.9 and down from 113.8 in October. Both Present Situation (142.5) and Expectations (87.6) both tumbled…

Source: Bloomberg

That is the lowest headline confidence since February and expectations are hovering at their lowest since 2016.

The Labor differential (Jobs Plentiful – Jobs Hard to Get) surged to a new record high…

Finally, we wonder just who the survey respondents are? The massive divergence between The Conference Board’s headline sentiment index and University of Michigan’s is stunning… and unique in the two indices’ forty-plus years…

Source: Bloomberg

Choose your confidence indicator wisely.