Mubasher: The University of Michigan's revised data suggested the US consumer confidence cooled down slightly in late October from September.

The consumer sentiment index fell to 98.6 points in the second half of October from 100.1 in the previous month, a survey report by Michigan University said on Friday.

“Stock price declines, rising inflation and interest rates, and the negative mid-term election campaigns, have not acted to undermine consumer confidence,” survey chief economist Richard Curtin commented

The index held up “primarily due to the prevailing belief that the economy would produce robust job growth during the year ahead, even if overall wage growth remained dismal,” Curtin added.

As for current economic conditions, the index dropped 1.8% month-on-month to 113.1 points in October, with a decline of 2.9% from the reading for the same month last year.

The expectation index declined to 89.3 points in October from 90.5 in the previous month.