Consumer Confidence remained relatively unchanged last week with the government partially shutdown and the prospect of a default still lingering. Per Bloomberg:
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index retreated to minus 29.7 in the week ended Oct. 6 from minus 29.4. The decrease was within the margin of error of 3 percentage points. A gauge of opinions on the economy fell to the lowest level in more than six months, while measures of personal finances and the buying climate improved.
“Upper-end households, who are thriving in the current environment, remain confident,” said Joseph Brusuelas, a senior economist at Bloomberg LP in New York. At the same time, if the conflict continues, he said it “will likely put a dent in consumer sentiment and business confidence in coming weeks.”