Investing.com - U.S. consumer confidence fell unexpectedly in February, underlining concerns over the U.S. economic outlook, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Conference Board, a market research group said its index of consumer confidence declined to 78.1 this month from a reading of 79.4 in January, whose figure was revised down from a previously reported 80.7. Analysts had expected the index to inch up to 80.0 in February.
The decline was driven by the Expectations Index, which dropped to 75.7 from 80.8. The Present Situation Index, by contrast, climbed from 77.3 to 81.7.
Commenting on the report, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center Lynn Franco said, ““Consumer confidence declined moderately in February, on concern over the short-term outlook for business conditions, jobs, and earnings.”
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar held on to losses against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.17% to trade at 1.3759.
Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets were lower after the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, the S&P 500 index shed 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite index dipped 0.3%.