US Consumer Confidence August 2026

US Consumer Confidence for August 2026 is expected on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 at 10:00am ET (3:00pm London), published by The Conference Board. The report covers survey responses gathered during August 2026 and measures how optimistic or pessimistic American households feel about the economy, jobs and their own finances. Full schedule and background: US Consumer Confidence.

The Conference Board has not yet confirmed the exact August 2026 release date at the time of writing. The organisation typically publishes the Consumer Confidence Index on the last Tuesday of every month, and August 25, 2026 fits that pattern, but readers should check the Conference Board’s official calendar closer to the date for confirmation.

What is the Consumer Confidence Index?

The Consumer Confidence Index is a monthly survey of around 3,000 US households, run for The Conference Board, asking people how they view current business and labour market conditions and how they expect things to look six months ahead. The headline number is an index, not a percentage, benchmarked to a value of 100 in 1985, so a reading of 90 means confidence sits below its long-run 1985 baseline rather than meaning “90 out of 100”.

The index splits into two parts that economists watch separately. The Present Situation Index reflects how people rate current business conditions and how easy or hard it is to find a job right now. The Expectations Index reflects what households think will happen to their income, business conditions and the jobs market over the next six months. The Conference Board has said that when the Expectations Index falls below 80, it has historically signalled a heightened risk of recession.

Markets watch this release because consumer spending drives roughly two-thirds of US economic output. A sharp drop in confidence can be an early warning that households are about to pull back on spending, which feeds into growth forecasts, corporate earnings and, indirectly, decisions at the Federal Reserve. It is a sentiment survey rather than a hard spending number, so it is watched alongside actual retail sales and jobs data rather than in isolation.

When is the August Consumer Confidence Index released?

The report is scheduled for August 25, 2026 at 10:00am ET (3:00pm London time), released by The Conference Board on its own website and distributed simultaneously through newswires. As noted above, this date has not been formally confirmed by the publisher and is based on the Conference Board’s usual practice of releasing the index on the last Tuesday of the month, as it did with the June 30, 2026 and July 28, 2026 reports.

What is the consensus forecast?

A consensus forecast for the August 2026 reading has not yet been published. Economist surveys for this release are typically compiled by data providers such as Bloomberg and Reuters in the days immediately before the report, so a specific number is unlikely to appear until closer to August 25, 2026.

The most recent published reading is 90.8 for July 2026, down 1.4 points from an upwardly revised 92.2 in June, according to The Conference Board. That July figure came in below the roughly 92.3 to 92.4 consensus that economists had pencilled in, according to Advisor Perspectives.

What the result could mean

These are possible reactions described by commentators, not predictions, and actual market moves depend on other data released the same week.

Why does this release matter right now?

Confidence has been on what Conference Board chief economist Dana Peterson called “a general downward sloping trajectory since late 2021,” according to the Conference Board’s July 2026 release. The Present Situation Index fell for a third consecutive month in July 2026, dropping to its lowest level since February 2021, while the Expectations Index has stayed below the Conference Board’s recession-warning threshold of 80 since February 2025.

The labour market has been a particular focus. The Conference Board’s “labour market differential”, which tracks the share of consumers saying jobs are plentiful minus those saying jobs are hard to get, fell to its lowest level since February 2021 in July, according to the same release. Inflation expectations have eased slightly over recent months, which analysts have flagged as one of the few more encouraging threads in an otherwise softening survey.

Because the Federal Reserve watches household sentiment as one input into its view of consumer spending and the labour market, a further deterioration in the Expectations Index could add to the case some policymakers make for interest rate cuts, while a stabilisation could support those who prefer to hold rates steady. The report also matters outside the US: American consumer spending trends affect demand for goods made in Asia and Europe, and shifts in the dollar tied to Fed rate expectations feed through to the pound and euro.

What It Means for Your Money

• Mortgages and borrowing rates: a weaker than expected reading can add to expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, which tends to pull US mortgage rates and other borrowing costs lower over time, with knock-on effects on global bond yields that also influence UK and European mortgage pricing.
• Savings: if the report feeds expectations of Fed rate cuts, savers holding cash in US dollar accounts or money market funds could eventually see lower returns on new deposits, though existing fixed-rate savings are unaffected.
• Jobs and wages: the survey’s labour market components are watched by employers and workers alike, since a sustained drop in how “plentiful” people think jobs are has historically coincided with slower hiring.
• Prices: the inflation expectations captured in the survey matter because if households expect prices to keep rising, they may demand higher wages or bring forward purchases, which can itself add to inflation pressure.
• Investments, pensions and currencies: a sharp move in confidence can ripple through US equity markets, and because pension funds worldwide hold significant US assets, this can affect pension valuations in the UK and Europe. Shifts in confidence also feed into dollar strength or weakness, affecting the pound and euro exchange rates for anyone travelling, importing or exporting.

Related events

• University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment, a separate monthly US sentiment survey often watched alongside this one for comparison.
• US non-farm payrolls and jobless claims, which provide the hard labour market data behind the survey’s sentiment.
• The next Federal Reserve interest rate decision, which weighs consumer confidence data alongside inflation and employment figures.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time is the August 2026 Consumer Confidence report released?

It is scheduled for 10:00am ET, which is 3:00pm in London, on August 25, 2026, though the Conference Board had not formally confirmed this date at the time of writing.

How should I read the Consumer Confidence Index?

Look beyond the headline number to the Present Situation and Expectations components, since the Conference Board and economists often draw different conclusions depending on which part is driving the move.

How does this data affect interest rates?

It is one of several data points the Federal Reserve considers when assessing the strength of consumer spending and the labour market, so a run of weak readings can add to the case for lower interest rates, though it rarely moves policy on its own.

Where can I find the official release?

The Conference Board publishes the report directly on its Consumer Confidence topic page, with the data also distributed via newswire on release day.

When is the next Consumer Confidence report after this one?

The Conference Board typically releases the index on the last Tuesday of each month, so the following report would be expected in late September 2026, subject to official confirmation.