US consumer confidence dropped to a three month low in January, according to a closely watched survey. The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index fell to 82.4 in January from 86.7 in December. The reading was weaker than analysts had expected and was lower than the mid-month reading of 83.7. Analysts said the market did not react too badly to the news as the unexpected drop in the mid-month reading had taken the most of the sting out of the data.
Earlier today, the Commerce Department said that personal spending rose by a better than expected 0.9pc in December, but data yesterday revealed that consumer spending growth slowed to just 1.0pc in the fourth quarter from 4.2pc in the previous three months. Elsewhere, today, manufacturing activity in the mid-west of the US picked up in the first month of 2003, according to the Chicago purchasing managers index. It rose to 56.0 from a revised 51.7 in December, where a reading above 50 mean expansion. Analysts had expected the index to edge up to just 52.3. //www.fxcentre.com