Consumer Confidence Falls on Fiscal Cliff Worries

The Conference Board’s monthly measure of consumer confidence dropped for the second straight month, due to consumer worries about the effects of the so-called fiscal cliff.

The index dropped eight points from November’s 71.5 to 65.1

“Consumers’ expectations retreated sharply in December resulting in a decline in the overall Index,” the Conference Board’s Lynn Franco said in a statement.

“The sudden turnaround in expectations was most likely caused by uncertainty surrounding the oncoming fiscal cliff. A similar decline in expectations was experienced in August of 2011 during the debt ceiling discussions. While consumers are quite negative about the short-term outlook, they are more upbeat than last month about current business and labor market conditions.”