U.S. consumer confidence fell in February, as consumers were positive about their current situation but expressed concern about the future, particularly about prospects for the job market, a private research organization reported on Tuesday. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 101.7 in February from 106.8 the previous month, ending a rebound that began in November following the Gulf coast hurricanes. Conference Board director of consumer research Lynn Franco said "consumers are growing increasingly concerned about the short-term health of the economy and, in turn, about job prospects. However, consumer assessment of present conditions is holding steady at a four-year high, suggesting that the start of 2006 will be better than the end of 2005, she said. The organization's indexes of present conditions and future expectations diverged sharply. The current economic conditions index rose to 129.3 from 128.8 in January, but the index that measures consumers' outlook over the next six months fell to 83.3 in February from 92.1 the previous month. Excluding the two months following Hurricane Katrina, the expectations index in February was at its lowest level since March 2003, when it was 61.4. Franco warned that if expectations continue to decline, "the outlook for the remainder of 2006 could deteriorate." Economists closely watch consumer confidence indexes for clues on consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of total U.S. economic activity.
