US consumer confidence dips at the start of February

US consumer confidence slipped slightly at the start of February due to a less favourable outlook for the economy in the year ahead, according to a preliminary reading for February from the University of Michigan.

The survey compiler's index dipped from a reading of 92.0 in January to 90.7 at the start of February.

Economists had been expecting a reading of 92.5.

A gauge of how consumers judged current economic conditions retreated from 106.4 to 105.8 while the sub-index that tracks their expectations fell from 82.7 to 81.0.

"While slowing economic growth was anticipated to slightly lessen the pace of job and wage gains, consumers viewed their personal financial situations somewhat more favorably due to the expectation that the inflation rate would remain low for a considerable period of time.

"No one would have guessed forty years ago, when high inflation was the chief cause of pessimism, that consumers would someday base their optimism on ultra-low inflation transforming meager wages into real income gains. The Fed's goal of pushing the inflation rate upward must be simultaneously accompanied by comparable gains in wages to prevent declines in real incomes and living standards," the University of Michigan said in a statement.

Inflation expectations between five to ten years out dropped from 2.7% in the month before to 2.4%, the lowest reading since 1979.