Consumer confidence has fallen over the past two weeks to its lowest level since January 2019, according to a reading that updates daily from Hamilton Place Strategies and data firm CivicScience.
Why it matters: The index's two-week average, provided first to Axios, dropped to 49.4, with the daily reading drifting even lower to 45.5 on Tuesday. Traditional data metrics are all lagging behind the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, which is the primary driver of markets at the moment.
- The Economic Sentiment Index is a “living” metric that tracks U.S. adults’ expectations for the economy going forward, as well as their feelings about current conditions for major purchases, CivicScience analysts say.
The big picture: Consumer confidence has clearly declined, but even as of Tuesday's weak level, it has not fallen off a cliff.
Go deeper: The looming global great recession