Consumer confidence falls 3rd straight month

10/12/2013

WASHINGTON — Consumer confidence dropped this month to its lowest level since January after the partial federal government shutdown, though the decline wasn’t as bad as some had forecast, according to new data released Friday.

The preliminary October consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan and Thompson Reuters fell to 75.2 from 77.5 the previous month.

It was the third straight monthly decrease since the index reached a six-year high of 85.1 in July. The lowest reading of the year was 73.8 in January.