US consumer confidence was almost unchanged in October, according to data published today, with Americans flagging the government shutdown as a key concern.
Non-essential US government services have been halted and many federal employees asked to work without pay since October 1 amid an ongoing standoff between Republicans and Democrats over health care subsidies.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index slipped 1.0 in October to 94.6, from an upwardly revised 95.6 in September.
This was slightly better than expected, according to surveys of economists conducted by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
"Consumer confidence moved sideways in October, only declining slightly from its upwardly revised September level," Conference Board senior economist Stephanie Guichard said in a statement.
"Changes to the individual subcomponents were also limited and largely cancelled each other out," she added, noting that the ongoing shutdown had been mentioned multiple times as "a key concern."
Average 12-month inflation expectations crept up to 5.9% from 5.8% in September, still uncomfortably high and significantly above the Federal Reserve's long-term 2% target.
