US consumer confidence slips in October

Consumer confidence in the US fell back to its levels of last September and of September 2014, with one in five persons anticipating an economic downturn sometime over the next five years.

The University of Michigan´s consumer confidence index for October slipped from 91.2 in September 2016 to 87.2 in October.

Economists had forecast a reading of 88.1.

In parallel, a sub-index tracking current economic conditions fell from 104.2 to 103.2 while the gauge linked to consumers´ expectations slipped from 82.7 to 76.8.

"Objectively, the probability of a downturn during the next five years is far from zero-this would be the longest expansion in 150 years if it lasted just over half of the five year horizon.

"Nonetheless, the October rise may simply reflect a temporary bout of uncertainty caused by the election," University of Michigan survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement.