Consumer confidence appears to weakening, a Conference Board of Canada report released today suggests. The Board’s Index of Consumer Confidence slipped 2.6 points in October to 120.4.

“Consumers were less optimistic about the state of their family finances. Survey respondents said their finances worsened slightly compared to six months ago,” said Pedro Antunes, associate director, economic services.

{Optimism also diminished about the likely state of family finances in six months. The prospect of looming interest rate increases, combined with high levels of household debt, may be making consumers more concerned about their budgets,” Antunes added.

Only 28.4% of respondents expected their financial situations to improve six months from now, down from 31% in September.

When asked if this was a good time to make a purchase such as a car or home, 57.5% responded that it was, down from 60.4% in September. Although the percentage of respondents who felt good about buying major items declined in October, the level of optimism for big-ticket purchases remains high.

Confidence rose in western Canada but declined in the rest of the country. Ontario suffered the sharpest decline, as confidence dropped more than six index points.

The telephone survey of more than 2,000 respondents took place from October 7 to October 12.