US consumer confidence fell in September to the lowest level since 2014 as views about the economy and the labour market deteriorated.
The Conference Board’s gauge of confidence decreased 6.7 points to 81.9 after a downward revision to the prior month, data released Tuesday showed.
Consumers pointed to higher costs for goods and services as the primary reason for the decline, according to The Conference Board, which released its monthly report on Tuesday.
“The Consumer Confidence Index deteriorated notably in September, following two prior months of softening,” Dana M Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, said in a release announcing the report.
Consumers pointed to higher prices at the pump as one of the driving factors. The average price for a gallon (3.78 litres) of petrol has jumped 37 cents over the past month, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), which tracks daily petrol prices. The average price stood at $4.45 on Tuesday, compared with $4.08 a month ago.
Peterson noted that consumers’ write-in responses on the economy were mostly pessimistic, adding that “references to prices, the high cost of goods and services, and oil and gas prices in particular, rose to new heights.”
