Consumer Comfort Index Falls

Consumer confidence readings have been respectable but flat with the consumer comfort index now heading south. The index fell 0.9 points to 41.3 in the September 18 week following the prior week's even steeper 1.8 point drop from 44.0. And it was roughly the 44 line where this index had been trending coming into September. Soft readings for consumer confidence hint at softness in the labor market, a suggestion however that jobless claims data, which are moving lower, are not confirming.