Economics
U.S. Consumer Comfort Sinks for Seventh Week on Finances Views
Retail stores stand closed along Greene Street in the Soho neighborhood of New York.
Photographer: George Etheredge/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Americans’ confidence fell for a seventh straight week as a gauge of sentiment about their finances dropped the most since 2012, a sign of rapidly deteriorating financial stress amid mounting layoffs due to the coronavirus.
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell 2.6 points to 36.9 in the week ended May 3, the lowest since October 2014, according to the survey released Thursday. The gauge of personal finances slumped 3.6 points, while measures of views about the economy and buying climate dropped to their weakest levels since 2014.