--Conf Board: US Jan confidence at lowest level since Dec 1996
--US Jan present situation index 170.5 vs Dec revised 176.1
--US Jan expectations index 77.0 vs Dec revised 96.9
--Conf Board: Expectations index at levels seen prior to recession
--Conf Board: Confidence drop doesn't signal econ run out of steam
--Conf Board: Further confidence erosion to spur more worry on econ

By BridgeNews
New York--Jan. 30--The Conference Board reported its U.S. consumer confidence index (1985=100) fell sharply in January to 114.4, its lowest level since December 1996, from a revised 128.6 in December. The expectations index also plunged, falling to 77.0 from a revised 96.9 in December and is now at levels "normally seen prior to a recession," the Conference Board said.
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"Consumers' increasing pessimism about the short-term outlook has sent the Expectations index into territory normally seen prior to a recession," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center.
"But consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions, while declining, does not yet suggest the economy has completely run out of steam," she said.
Confidence in January came in far below the consensus forecast of 126.0.
Meanwhile, the present situation index fell to 170.5 in January versus a revised 176.2 in December, previously at 177.0. The expectations index plunged to 77.0, versus a revised 96.9 in December, previously at 95.8. "Since apprehension leads to caution and cautious consumers spend less than confident ones, confidence levels in February will be carefully watched.
Further erosion in consumer confidence will create more serious concerns about the overall health of the economy," Franco said.
Consumers' assessment of current conditions was less positive than in December. The percentage of consumers labeling business conditions as "good" fell to 34.8% from a revised 40.8% in December. Those rating conditions as "bad" rose to 10.8% from 9.5% in December, while the percentage of those claiming jobs were hard to get rose to 12.8% from 12.4% in December.
Consumers were much less optimistic about the short-term outlook. The proportion anticipating conditions to worsen rose sharply to 15.7% from a revised 10.1% in December, while the percentage of consumers expecting an improvement in business conditions fell to 12.4% from a revised 16.9% in December.
The monthly consumer confidence survey covers a representative sample of 5,000 US households. End