Consumer Confidence Continues to Wane
By Scott Sumerford on Tuesday, November 27th, 2007 :: 4:42 pmCategory: Financial News
The Conference Board released the latest Consumer Confidence Index results today. According to the reports, overall consumer confidence fell 8 percent from October. This is the fourth consecutive month the Consumer Confidence Index has declined. The Conference Board attributed diminishing consumer confidence to unstable financial markets, rising gasoline prices and possible increases in heating expenses this winter.
The Consumer Confidence Index is based on a survey of 5,000 U.S. households. The survey probes consumers’ opinions on present market conditions, the job market, market expectations, and other economic factors. Of the different categories of the survey, consumer expectations suffered the most significant drop.
However, consumers polled said they were planning on spending more on gifts this Christmas than they did last year. In fact, the National Retail Federation reported that more than 147 million consumers went shopping during Black Friday, up nearly 5 percent from last year. This indicates consumers may be pessimistic about the economy, but they are still spending.
Consumers are expected to spend $475 billion this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. Currently, the Federal Reserve Board estimates consumer debt in America is nearly $2.5 trillion and, if the upward trend continues, consumer debt will increase by over 5 percent in the next quarter. For the millions of Americans already in credit card debt, purchasing gifts with a credit card could be a costly decision.
Author Bio: Scott Sumerford has several years of experience working in the financial industry and has written a myriad of articles on various financial matters. Read more about how MyUSADebt offers a viable alternative to debt consolidation.
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