Personal financial expectations have worsened, and U.S. consumer confidence has fallen to a more than three-year low

U.S. consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in more than three years as the government shutdown weighed on the economic outlook and high prices worsened personal financial expectations. The consumer confidence index fell to 50.3 in November from 53.6 the month before, the lowest since June 2022, preliminary data from the University of Michigan showed. The current conditions index tumbled 6.3 points to a record low of 52.3, indicating rising public concern about the impact of the government shutdown. The report noted that this overall decline in confidence was fairly widespread across age, income and political groups. While spontaneous references to "high prices" have increased for the fifth straight month, long-term inflation expectations have eased. Consumers expect prices to rise at an annual rate of 3.6 percent over the next five to ten years, a three-month low. However, their price expectations for the year ahead rose slightly. "Consumers are feeling personal financial pressures from multiple sources," survey leader Joanne Hsu said in a statement. "They also expect the labour market to continue to weaken in the future and expect to be affected." Concerns about job losses surged this month, with 71 per cent of respondents expecting unemployment to rise in the coming year, more than double the proportion in the same period last year.