US consumer confidence rises to 91.7 in October, Conference Board says

Right · 2The Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose 7.5 points to 91.7 in October, up from 84.2 in September. 1 2 Right · 1Breitbart reported that economists had expected confidence to fall to 81. 1 Right · 1Just the News, citing the Associated Press, reported that September's 84.2 was the lowest reading in the survey since April 2014 and below the lowest level reached during the pandemic. 2

Right · 1Fergus McCormick, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board, said the gain was driven mainly by improved perceptions of current and expected business conditions and was in line with retail gasoline prices easing from September to October. 1 Right · 1McCormick also said that, despite the October increase, confidence remained on the long-term downward trend of the past few years. 2 Right · 1The share of consumers saying jobs are plentiful rose to 26.7 percent from 24.3 percent, while the share saying jobs are hard to get was unchanged at 21.4 percent. 1

Right · 2The two outlets give the sub-index figures differently: Breitbart says the current-conditions index rose 8.6 points to 120.4 and the expectations index rose 6.9 points to 72.6, partly reversing three months of declines, while Just the News attaches the 6.9-point rise to 72.6 to the present situation and the 8.6-point rise to 120.4 to the short-term outlook. 1 2 Right · 1AAA put the average US gasoline price at $4.27 a gallon on Tuesday, down from $4.28 a week earlier but well above $3.05 at the same point last year. 2 Right · 1President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that consumer confidence was "up 7.5%, an extremely big rise"; Just the News said the news gave Republicans badly needed positive economic news before the midterms, while Trump's approval on the economy remains underwater. 3