US Consumer Confidence Index Rises Slightly to 89.1 in December
The Conference Board's December reading edged up from November but fell below forecasts, while manufacturing activity showed improvement.
Fact Check
The assessment is based on consistent, corroborating evidence from multiple relevant sources. A news article from China Daily (Authority: 0.70), a major news outlet, directly reports that the US Consumer Confidence Index was 89.1 in December and correctly attributes the data to 'the Conference Board'. This claim is independently confirmed by a market news update on an agricultural industry website (Authority: 0.50), which also explicitly states that 'The Conference Board's Dec US consumer confidence index fell... to 89.1'. While some of the provided sources are from the primary authority (The Conference Board), they do not contain the specific data point for December, as they discuss different topics. Crucially, none of the provided sources contradict the statement. The convergence of information from two independent secondary sources, with no conflicting evidence, makes the original statement highly probable.
Summary
The Conference Board reported the U.S. December Consumer Confidence Index at 89.1, up from November’s revised 88.7 (originally 92.9) but below the forecast of 91. The Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index improved to -7 from -15, surpassing expectations of -10, indicating a modest recovery in regional manufacturing activity.
Terms & Concepts
- Conference Board: A U.S. non-profit research organization that provides economic indicators, including the consumer confidence index, to gauge economic sentiment.
- Consumer Confidence Index: A measure of the public's optimism about the economy, based on surveys of households regarding current and future economic conditions.
- Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index: A regional economic indicator published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, measuring manufacturing activity in its district through survey data.