Investing.com - U.S. consumer confidence fell more than expected in September, dampening optimism over the outlook for the consumption-driven economy, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Conference Board, a market research group, said its index of consumer confidence decreased to 119.8 this month from a reading of 120.4 (revised down from an initial 122.9) in August.
Analysts had expected the index to fall to just 120.0 in September.
The Present Situation Index decreased from 148.4 to 146.1, while the Expectations Index rose marginally from 101.7 last month to 102.2.
“Consumer confidence decreased slightly in September after a marginal improvement in August,” Lynn Franco, director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, said.
Franco noted that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma forced a considerable downward thrust in both Texas and Florida.
“Despite the slight downtick in confidence, consumers’ assessment of current conditions remains quite favorable and their expectations for the short-term suggest the economy will continue expanding at its current pace,” she added.
The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was September 18.
After the report, which was released simultaneously with the Richmond manufacturing index for the same month and August new home sales, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1789 from around 1.1793 ahead of the publication; GBP/USD was at 1.3441 from 1.3443 earlier; while USD/JPY was at 112.14 from 112.15 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, traded at 92.85 compared to 92.81 prior to the release.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were trading higher after the open. The Dow 30 rose 0.28%, the S&P 500 gained 0.24%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 0.43%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,304.38 a troy ounce, compared to $1,304.28 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $51.76 a barrel from $51.73 earlier.