Consumer Confidence Falls Again

January 28, 2003 11:30 AM, EST

U.S. consumer confidence slipped for the seventh time in eight months, the New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday, falling to a nine-year low in January.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 79 in January its lowest reading since November 1993, from a revised December figure of 80.7.

The board said that those who responded to their survey said they expect fewer new jobs, reduced incomes and a weaker economy six months from now.

Economists had expected confidence to decline even further, down to a consensus estimate of 78.4, Bloomberg News reported.

Weakening consumer confidence can pinch spending, and reduce freight shipments to stores and factories.

In a small piece of offsetting news, the Commerce Department said that sales of new homes closed 2002 by rising 3.5% in December to a pace of 1.082 million units.

The improvement capped a record year for home sales, Commerce said. For all of 2002, 976,000 new homes were sold, up from the previous record of 908,000 new homes in 2001.