The Conference Board Monthly Consumer Confidence survey noted a decline in the index in February to 110.5 from 111.1 in January.  The Present Situation Index improved to 145.1 from 144.5 in February.  The reduced Confidence Index was attributed to a drop in the Expectations Index, which fell from 88.8 in January to 87.5 in February. 

Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators for the Conference Board stated, "The Present Situation Index improved suggesting the economy will continue to expand in Q1 but it did not gain momentum".  She added, "Expectations over short-term growth prospects weakened pointing to a likely moderation of growth during the first half of 2022".  Highlights of the February Consumer Survey included:

• 18.7 percent of respondents regarded business conditions as good, but 27.4 percent expressed a "bad" appraisal
• 53.8 percent regarded jobs as "plentiful", but 11.8 percent indicated that jobs were difficult to obtain, although 21.3 of consumers expected more jobs to be available in the coming months
• 15.7 percent of consumers expected incomes to increase in contrast to 12.1 anticipating a decline.