Why the Conference Board's 91.7 October Reading Is a 7.5-Point Gain on a Revised 84.2
The Conference Board's preliminary October index rose to 91.7 from a revised 84.2, as the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting began on Oct. 27.
U.S. consumer confidence rose in October, the Conference Board said on Oct. 27, 2026. Its preliminary Consumer Confidence Index reached 91.7, up 7.5 points from a revised 84.2 in September.
The release came on the first day of the Federal Reserve's Oct. 27–28 policy meeting. No statement dated Oct. 28 had appeared on the Fed's 2026 press-release list when this article was prepared, so the outcome of that meeting is not reported here.
A 7.5-Point Gain Measured Against a Revised September
The Conference Board publishes the index on the last Tuesday of each month, which makes this release Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. The index uses a 1985=100 base.
The 7.5-point gain is calculated from September's revised figure of 84.2. The Conference Board describes that revision as slight and upward.
The October number is preliminary. The Conference Board describes its Consumer Confidence Survey as monthly, and prior-month values can change between releases, as the September revision shows.
How the Present Situation and Expectations Indexes Moved
The Consumer Confidence Survey reflects prevailing business conditions and likely developments for the months ahead. The October release also includes two sub-indexes. The Present Situation Index rose 8.6 points to 120.4, and the Expectations Index rose 6.9 points to 72.6. The Conference Board reports both sub-indexes for October alongside the headline figure.
Toluna conducts the survey for the Conference Board, using an online sample from a panel of over 36 million consumers. The preliminary October survey ran from Oct. 1 through Oct. 21, 2026.
In points, the Present Situation Index rose more than the Expectations Index in October, 8.6 against 6.9. Both sub-indexes are reported in the same monthly survey release as the 91.7 headline figure.
What the Federal Reserve Decides at Its Eight Meetings a Year
The Federal Open Market Committee sets U.S. monetary policy. The Federal Reserve controls three tools of monetary policy, including open market operations, which the FOMC is responsible for. It uses them to influence the federal funds rate, which is the overnight interest rate at which depository institutions lend balances at the Federal Reserve to other depository institutions overnight.
The committee has 12 members and holds eight regularly scheduled meetings a year. At each one, it reviews economic and financial conditions, decides the stance of policy, and assesses risks to its goals of price stability and sustainable growth. Nonvoting Reserve Bank presidents also attend and take part in discussions.
At the Sept. 15–16, 2026 meeting, the committee voted 12-0 to raise the federal funds target range by a quarter point, to 3.75% to 4.00%. The statement said inflation remains elevated and that the policy action will support a timelier return to the Committee's 2% goal. The Fed also released economic projections that day, as its 2026 press-release list shows.
The same statement described economic activity as expanding at a solid pace, with resilient domestic spending, strong productivity growth and robust capital investment. It said job gains were keeping pace with the workforce and that the unemployment rate had changed little.
The Fed's 2026 calendar marks the March, June, September and December meetings with an asterisk for a Summary of Economic Projections. The October meeting, Oct. 27–28, does not carry that mark, and neither do the January, April and July meetings.
The Pending October Decision and the November Index Release
The Fed's 2026 press-release list shows statements dated Jan. 28, March 18, April 29, June 17, July 29 and Sept. 16, with the September statement and economic projections among them. No entry dated Oct. 28 had appeared when this article was prepared. The Oct. 27–28 meeting is scheduled to end on Oct. 28, and its decision had not been published at the time of writing.
The Conference Board publishes the index at 10 a.m. ET on the last Tuesday of every month. Its next release is set for Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2026, at 10 a.m. ET.
