Mainers’ confidence slumped in January

Market Decisions of South Portland recently released Maine’s latest consumer confidence index. Contrary to the national index, the Maine measure declined during January.

The Maine index has three components, measuring sentiment, expectations and current conditions. The index of current conditions is considered an indicator that is more sensitive to what is already going on in the economy. It is intended to reflect attitudes toward recent economic conditions. Down 0.6 points, it was virtually unchanged from October. Nationally, the current conditions index rose to 109.5, its highest level since December 2000.

The Maine index is sponsored by Norway Savings Bank.