The Conference Board said on Tuesday, September 29, that US consumer confidence fell 6.7 points in September to 81.9 from 88.6 in August, its lowest reading since 2014. The New York-based research group reported that Americans had grown more pessimistic about both current business conditions and the months ahead. Reuters said the result was below the 89.2 reading forecast by economists in its poll.
The monthly Consumer Confidence Index measures households’ views of the economy against a 1985 base of 100. The Conference Board said its preliminary September survey covered September 1 through 23, a period that included a Federal Reserve interest rate increase and continuing geopolitical tensions. The group conducts the online survey through Toluna, and the reading reflects respondents’ assessments rather than a direct measure of spending or output.
The index of present conditions dropped 7.9 points to 109.3, while the expectations index, which tracks the next six months, fell 5.9 points to 63.6. The Conference Board said that was the third straight monthly decline in expectations. Its chief economist, Dana Peterson, said assessments of current business conditions turned negative for the first time since September 2024; views of the labor market also weakened, although they remained positive.
Survey responses showed greater concern about prices, particularly fuel costs, according to Peterson. The share describing business conditions as bad rose to 20.4% from 17.3% in August. Meanwhile, 23.6% said jobs were plentiful, down from 24.5%, and 21.9% said jobs were hard to get, up from 20.3%. Looking six months ahead, 28.4% expected fewer jobs, compared with 26.1% a month earlier.
Households’ average expectation for inflation over the next 12 months rose to 6.1%, up 0.3 percentage point, the Conference Board reported. The share expecting higher interest rates over that period climbed 5.2 points to 68.4%. Planned spending on a range of discretionary services, including hotels, air travel and movies, eased, while plans to buy cars and homes slipped slightly on a six-month moving-average basis.
The survey points to pressure on consumer sentiment at a time when businesses are watching whether higher prices and borrowing costs will affect demand. It does not by itself establish that household spending has fallen. The Conference Board said 42.6% of respondents still planned a vacation within six months, slightly more than in August. Its next confidence report is scheduled for October 27, when it will offer another reading on how households view the economy.
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