In Brief: Consumer Confidence Seen Lower

Consumer confidence in the U.S. economy probably fell in January, but only slightly, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index, to be released this morning, was expected to drop to 132.9, from 134.5 in December, according to an average of 25 forecasts. December's level was the highest reading since June 1969.

"Various sentiment gauges stand at or near all-time highs, suggesting that the Asian situation has done little to dampen U.S. consumers' outlook," said David Greenlaw, an economist at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER