According to analysts from Wells Fargo, despite financial markets volatility, tariff concerns and potentially higher interest rates, consumers still found reasons to be thankful in November and pushed Consumer Confidence higher. They see the housing market as a weak spot in an otherwise solid economy.
Key Quotes:
“The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment measure dropped slightly to 97.5 in November. Unlike the Conference Board measure (currently at an 18-year high), Michigan’s measure has been somewhat less sanguine recently, although still points to a positive assessment of economic conditions.”
“Improved financial conditions on trend over the past several years owe much to stock market gains (this week’s volatility notwithstanding) but real earnings are still only slowly rising.
“In a separate release earlier this week, homebuilder confidence notched its biggest monthly drop in nearly five years in November amid broad-based weakness in several survey sub-indices.”