NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. consumer confidence this month is chilling in a clear break with confidence levels in the last three Decembers.
RBC Financial Group said Friday that its monthly measure of U.S. consumer confidence dropped more than 5 points to 86.9 from 92.4 in November, as consumers expressed concern about current and future economic conditions, as well as investing.
"The downturn this month breaks a 3-year trend of increasing consumer confidence in the month of December, as 2003, 2004 and 2005 all exhibited gains in consumer confidence from November to December," RBC said in a news release.
T.J. Marta, economic and fixed income strategist for RBC Capital Markets, said the new data indicate consumer demand will slow in the coming months.
"However, the strong jobs environment underpins our forecast that the economy is merely moderating to a sustainable growth rate rather than spiraling into a significant downtrend," Marta said.
