Consumer Confidence Declines in January

Consumer confidence fell this month, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Jan. 17.

The month鈥檚 preliminary index fell to a reading of 80.4 from 82.5 in December.

鈥淭he numbers tell us consumers are still likely to be cautious in spending,鈥 said Michael Moran, chief economist at Daiwa Capital Markets America Inc., told Bloomberg News. 鈥淚鈥檓 expecting to see some cooling off in spending in the first quarter.鈥

The index of expectation six months from now declined to 70.9 from 72.1 last month, Bloomberg reported.