• Prior was 91.2 prior (revised to 91.0)

Details:

• Present situation 123.3 vs 120.0 prior
• Expectations 70.9 vs 72.0 prior
• Jobs plentiful27.3% vs 26.7% prior
• Jobs hard to get 21.5% vs 21.0% prior

Respondents under 35 remain the most optimistic and those 55 and over the least. Republicans remained the most optimistic, while confidence was substantially lower among Independents and the lowest among Democrats.

The report said:

“Consumers’ write-in responses on factors affecting the economy continued to skew towards pessimism. Comments about prices and the cost of goods suggest that the cost of living remained at the top of consumers’ minds. As the war in Iran overlapped significantly with the survey sample period, comments about oil/gas and war/conflict spiked, while specific mentions of trade and tariffs decreased notably.”

US consumer confidence opened 2026 on shaky ground. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index plunged 9.7 points in January to 84.5, its lowest reading since May 2014 and well below the 91.1 level economists had forecast. The decline reflected growing anxiety over geopolitical tensions, persistent affordability pressures, and ongoing trade policy uncertainty. All five components of the index deteriorated, with the Present Situation Index dropping to 113.7 and the Expectations Index falling to 65.1 — well below the 80 threshold that has historically signaled recession risk.

February brought a modest rebound, with the headline index rising 2.2 points to 91.2. The improvement was driven primarily by the Expectations Index, which climbed 4.8 points to 72.0, while the Present Situation Index slipped further to 120.0. Despite the uptick, the Expectations Index remained below 80 for the thirteenth consecutive month — the longest sustained stretch below that level since the 2008 financial crisis.

The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index told a similar story. Michigan’s gauge came in at 56.6 in February, barely changed from January’s 56.4, with households across income groups, age brackets, and political affiliations reporting weaker expectations for personal finances. Year-ahead inflation expectations held steady at 3.4%, halting six months of declines, while longer-term expectations edged down slightly to 3.2%.

Spending intentions in early 2026 have gravitated toward affordable necessities and lower-cost services, with restaurants, streaming, and personal care topping the list of planned outlays. Vacation plans softened in February, and while big-ticket purchase intentions improved slightly, consumers remained cautious about expensive discretionary spending.

Taken together, the early-2026 data paint a picture of a consumer base that views current conditions as tolerable but is increasingly wary about what lies ahead — a dynamic with significant implications for the roughly two-thirds of US GDP driven by household spending.

This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.