Consumer Comfort in U.S. Falls on Dimmer Views of Buying Climate

Americans’ sentiment fell for the first time in three weeks as a gauge of attitudes toward making purchases slid to the lowest since June, a possible sign spending may be less robust as the holiday shopping season begins.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index declined to 60.5 in the week ended Nov. 12 from 61.3, while a gauge of buying climate views fell to 48.9 from 50.1, indicating respondents feel more negatively than positively about buying items they want and need. Even with the decrease, the main index has held above 60 for five weeks, the longest such streak in almost 18 years.