United States consumer confidence fell in August to its lowest level in seven months as households became more pessimistic about the labour market and inflation, according to a survey released on Tuesday.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 89.4 in August, the lowest reading since January, from a downwardly revised 90.2 in July.
Economists had expected the index to remain at 90.2, compared with the originally reported July reading of 90.8.
“Consumer confidence moderated slightly in August for a second consecutive month,” said Dana M Peterson, Chief Economist, The Conference Board.
“The Expectations Index slipped further into negative territory, which was offset by a moderate rise in the Present Situation Index after declining in the past three months. Consumer appraisals of current business conditions were mildly positive.
"Perceptions of the current labour market improved, reversing three months of moderate decline."
The decline was driven by a 7.8% drop in the expectations index, which more than offset the first improvement in households' assessment of current conditions in four months.
"Consumers were more pessimistic about business conditions and the labour market over the next six months," said Dana Peterson.
The report's jobs differential index, which measures the gap between respondents saying jobs are plentiful and those saying they are hard to find, increased for the first time in three months. The measure had fallen in July to its lowest level in more than five years.
Meanwhile, consumers expect inflation to accelerate over the next 12 months, with inflation expectations rising to 5.8% in August from 5.6% in July.
