US Consumer Comfort Crashes By Most Ever

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index plunged 6.4 points in the week ended April 4 to 49.9, the lowest since October 2017.

Source: Bloomberg

This is the biggest weekly drop in history – worse than during the great financial crisis – and mimics (though considerably faster) the collapse in confidence after the dotcom crash.

In the past three weeks, the measure has plummeted more than 13 points, also the steepest drop in records back to 1985.

Under the hood, it’s just as ugly:

• The comfort report’s gauge of confidence in the economy lost a whopping 10.6 points last week to 44.4, the lowest reading since July 2017.

• A measure of attitudes toward the buying climate slumped 5.9 points to the weakest level since the end of 2017.

• The CCI’s third gauge, views of personal finances, hit a four-month low.

Source: Bloomberg

But as the chart shows, levels remain above Trump election levels (for now).

Source: Bloomberg

While the weakening in sentiment was broad-based among demographics, ratings for Americans with household incomes of at least $100,000 – a cohort that may have more stock-market exposure – slid 8.4 points to the lowest level since July 2015.