US consumer confidence dips slightly in October

SILVER SPRING, Maryland: US consumer confidence dipped slightly in October as a new wave of COVID-19 cases began across the country.

The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to a reading of 100.9, from 101.8 in September.

Consumer spending accounts for 70 per cent of economic activity in the US, so a decline in confidence gets a lot of attention from economists, especially as the US heads into the crucial holiday shopping season.

Consumer confidence tumbled to 85.7 in April as large swaths of the country went into lockdown to check infections.

It had consistently been well above 100 in the months before that, with the index hitting 132.6 in February before the severity of COVID-19 infections became clear.