Consumer confidence tumbles to 9-month low
A measure of U.S. consumer confidence slid in August to a nine-month low as worries about job growth and the economy overshadowed the Federal Reserve’s recent pause in some two years of raising interest rates, a survey showed on Tuesday.
Less favorable business conditions coupled with a less favorable job scenario have resulted in the largest one-month decline in confidence since Hurricane Katrina last year,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. Consumers are growing increasingly pessimistic about the short-term outlook,” she added in a statement. The Fed’s policy-setting committee voted to leave its benchmark federal funds rate steady at 5.25 percent on August 8 but left the door open to future rate increases in case inflation proved tenacious.
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