Survey: US Consumer Spending Intent Still Healthy but Momentum is Slowing,

Bain & Co. study shows Americans remain in a healthy spending posture but there are tentative signals that US consumer activity could weaken into spring next year.

The U.S. consumer remains in a healthy spending posture going into the final weeks of the crucial holiday spending season but momentum behind Americans' discretionary spending has slowed and there are tentative early warning signs that spending may weaken into the spring, according to the latest results of the Bain & Company/Dynata Consumer Health Indexes.

December results of the Consumer Health Indexes (CHI) show a fall in the survey data's headline gauge of the U.S. consumer outlook, by 1.1 points from November's reading, to 101.0. Alongside, the CHI gauge of spending intentions across all US consumers, the data's composite spending index, fell by 2.4 points from last month's level, dropping to 102.5, although it remains up by 0.6 points over the past three months.