US consumer confidence fell for the fifth straight month in November, according to a report today that suggested the Christmas holiday shopping season will be sluggish.
The Conference Board, a New York-based private business research group, said its index of consumer confidence fell to 82.2 in November, compared with a downwardly revised 85.3 in October.
A separate index from the University of Michigan has edged higher over the past two months, but mostly because of the lowest consumer inflation expectations since the 1950s.
Economists and policy-makers closely monitor consumer confidence because it can give hints about future consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of US economic activity and has remained resilient in the face of recession. Economists had expected the index to rise to 87.9.
"Rising unemployment and continuing layoff announcements are dampening confidence," said Mrs Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center, in a statement.
"A turnaround in confidence levels is not likely before year's end, nor are retailers likely to enjoy a blockbuster holiday season," she said.
The Present Situation Index, which measures consumers' views of the economy right now, plunged to 93.5 in November from a revised 107.2 in October.
But in a sign consumers were more optimistic about the future, the Expectations Index, which gauges consumers' outlook for the next six months, rose to 74.6 in November from a revised 70.7 in October.