Consumer Confidence Fell To An All-Time Low In October

Consumer Confidence Fell To An All-Time Low In October

Consumer Confidence (Oct) Actual 38.0, Expected 52.2, Previous 59.8

Release Explanation: This is the Conference Board's survey of consumer confidence regarding current and future economic conditions. The survey, based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households, builds an economic picture of the mood of the economy’s consumer and therefore how well the Service based economies may fair over the coming months. Retail Sales, New & Existing Home Sales, CPI, Durable Goods, GDP over a period of time if a constant trend is being built. A currency will eventually be affected by these numbers, but only once they filter through to the main releases.

Trade Desk Thoughts: Consumer Confidence declined to a record low in October as stocks plunged and the economy weakened. It was the third-largest monthly decline on record. The Present Situation Index decreased to 41.9 from 61.1 and the Expectations Index declined to 35.5 from 61.5. Consumers' assessment of the labor market was also much more negative. The percentage of consumers saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 37.2% from 32.2% in September, while those claiming jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 8.9% from 12.6%.

"The fact that consumers have become extremely more pessimistic bodes very poorly for retailers in the fourth quarter," said Matthew Carniol, chief currency strategist at TheLFb-forex.com. "Consumers should expect to see sharp discounts during the holiday shopping season."

Forex Technical Reaction: Equity markets reversed after the report was released and the dollar fell against the yen.

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