Sixth Weekly Drop in U.S. Consumer Comfort Is Longest Since 2015

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer confidence deteriorated for a sixth straight week, the longest such stretch since 2015, as fears about the coronavirus rattle financial markets and lead to concerns about the durability of the record-long economic expansion.

Bloomberg’s Consumer Comfort Index eased in the first week of March to 62.7, the lowest since Dec. 22, from 63, data Thursday showed.

Most of the recent decline in sentiment from a two-decade high in late January occurred in the period spanning Jan. 26 to Feb. 23. The deterioration has been less severe in the past two weeks.

The comfort gauge’s measure of how consumers view their personal finances took the largest hit last week, dropping to an 11-week low of 67 from 67.7. The component that tracks the state of the economy eased, while consumers’ view of the buying climate was unchanged.

To contact the reporter on this story: Max Reyes in Washington at mreyes125@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Vince Golle, Jeff Kearns

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