What Is the Current Consumer Confidence Index?
Non-partisan think tank The Conference Board reports the Consumer Confidence Index each month. The Board bases the index on a monthly survey of 3,000 households. The report gives details about consumer attitudes and buying intentions. It provides a national summary and a breakdown by age, income, and region of the country.
How Does the Consumer Confidence Index Work?
The Conference Board created the index in 1967. At that time, the survey was only conducted twice a month by mail and was calculated differently. Now, confidence is measured through a survey that is conducted online and compared to answers from 1985. If the most recent index is above 100, then consumers are more confident than they were in 1985. If it’s below 100, they are less confident than during that time. The overall Consumer Confidence Index is a composite of two other indexes — the present situation index and the expectations index.
Present Situation Index
The Present Situation Index measures the response to two questions the survey asks:
How would you rate the present business conditions? What would you say about available jobs in your area right now?
Expectations Index
The Expectations Index reports on respondents’ predictions for business conditions and available jobs six months from now. It also measures whether those surveyed think their incomes will be higher, lower, or about the same in six months.
How the Consumer Confidence Index Affects You
Consumer confidence is the primary driver of demand in the U.S. economy. If people are uncertain about the future, they will buy less. That slows economic growth. When trust in the future is high, people are more willing to shop. That increases consumer spending, which is almost 70% of U.S. gross domestic product. The other components of GDP are business investments, government spending, and net exports. If confidence increases too much, then people will spend more instead of saving. It creates higher demand that could trigger inflation. To stop it, the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. That slows economic growth. It also increases the value of the dollar. That reduces exports because they are now priced higher in foreign markets. It makes imports cheaper, which also reduces inflation. The Consumer Confidence Index is a lagging indicator. That means it is not good at predicting future economic trends. If anything, it follows them. Most people don’t feel that the economy has changed until months later. For example, even when a recession is over, people don’t feel it. Many are still unemployed. Others are in debt they incurred while they were jobless. Some others have lost their homes. They are uncertain whether the economic climate has improved. It might take six months before they realize there aren’t any jobs. By that time, they’ve gone into debt and maybe defaulted on their mortgage. The survey also asks how easy it is to find jobs. Usually, it doesn’t become difficult to find work until after the economy has turned. That’s because unemployment is also a lagging indicator. The last thing managers want to do is lay off their workers. They cut every other cost first. By the time they begin layoffs, the recession is already underway.
The Bottom Line
Investors and stock market analysts often monitor the Consumer Confidence Index closely. They want to get an idea of whether consumer spending will increase or decrease. Any rise can spur business spending to meet the demand. That increases earnings and stock prices. For that reason, investors are more likely to buy stocks if the Consumer Confidence Index rises. The stock market can move dramatically on the day the index is published, but that will probably only happen if there is a lot of uncertainty about the economy. Investors welcome any added insight the Consumer Confidence Index can provide.
