Confidence Measures

A Bright Spot Amid Subdued Confidence

There was a good sign amid the measures of confidence in April—which were otherwise subdued, according to the latest U.S. data. Household confidence in the present situation picked up in April and is up at a strong pace year-to-date and compared…


Confidence Revives to Reinforce Spending Outlook

Households steadied their confidence in March—reinforcing the outlook for a steady pace of spending despite domestic and global disruptions, according to the latest U.S. confidence measures. The mood measures have been bolstered by an improvement in consumer confidence focused in future…


Weak Confidence Has Silver Lining

Household confidence weakened noticeably in February, but an encouraging sign for the near-term spending outlook is that confidence in current conditions is holding up, according to a first look at the latest U.S. confidence measures. When confidence in current or present…


Confidence Holding Up Despite Wealth Losses

In an encouraging sign for 2016 prospects, household confidence held up in January from the prior month despite the big stock market declines—according to a first look at the latest U.S. confidence measures. The stability in confidence was evident in both…


Confidence Signals Steady Outlook into 2016

Households bucked up their confidence in December, suggesting a steady outlook for household spending heading into 2016—according to the latest U.S. confidence measures. The December pickup in confidence (from a falloff in November) was evident in both the consumer confidence and…


Household Confidence Slips, But Outlook Steady

Household confidence remained on a slippery slope in November, but does not suggest a change in the modest outlook for household spending—according to a first look at the latest U.S. confidence measures. The significance of a falloff in consumer confidence reported…


Household Confidence is Holding Up

The two main measures of household confidence remain on a flat trend since the start of the year, suggesting that household spending will remain near its recent modest pace. That’s the big-picture takeaway from the latest data through October for consumer…