Confidence Gains Again During September

September 30, 2008  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in on October 2008 Following a moderate improvement in August, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index inched up again in September, increasing to 59.8 from 58.5 (1985=100).

The Present Situation Index decreased to 58.8, its lowest level in more than a year, from 65 last month, but the Expectations Index increased to 60.5 from 54.1 in August, achieving its highest mark since January.

“September’s increase in the Consumer Confidence Index was due solely to an improvement in the short-term outlook,” said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “However, these results did not capture all of the tumultuous events in the financial sector this month, and until the dust settles a bit more, we will not know the full impact on consumers’ expectations.”

Consumers’ appraisal of current conditions eroded further in September, with those saying business conditions are “good” or “normal” slipping from 67.3 percent to 65.8 percent.

Short-term (six month) expectations improved, with 78.7 percent of consumers anticipating business conditions would be the same or better, measured against 74.8 percent in August.

Consumers’ purchasing plans for big-ticket items in the next six months took a downturn, with 4.9 percent planning on buying a car, off from 5.2 percent in August; 2.1 percent expecting to buy a home, down from 3.4 percent last month; and 28.2 percent anticipating buying a major appliance, off from 32.5 percent in August.

Five of the nine U.S. regions posted gains in the confidence for the month, led by the East South Central’s 15.9-point increase to 79.9 points. The other regions recording gains were Middle Atlantic (up 5.1 points to 50), East North Central (up 6.2 points to 45), South Atlantic (up 7.4 points to 63.7) and the Pacific (up 11.7 points to 61.7).

The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The cutoff date for Septembers preliminary results was Sept. 23.