NEW YORK – Consumer sentiment in the U.S. fell this month to the lowest level in a year, hurt by turmoil in the credit and stock markets, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, Bloomberg News said.
“Consumers are nervous about the state of the housing market and the state of the stock market,” said David Sloan, a senior economist at 4Cast Inc. in New York. “There’s a risk the wealth effect will pull the consumer back and also feed through into a slowdown in employment growth.”
The Reuters/University of Michigan index fell to 83.4 points this month (2000 = 100) from 90.4 in July. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 63 economists had predicted an August sentiment index of 82.5 (projections ranged from 80 to 86.5 points).
The expectations index, reflecting consumers’ hopes or fears for the future, fell to 73.7 points.
On the bright side, the continuing decline in gasoline prices has offered consumers some relief, the survey report said. The average price of regular gasoline fell to $2.749 per gallon on Aug. 27, 11 cents lower than at the end of July, according to AAA. (READ MORE).
The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers are produced each month by the University of Michigan and distributed by Reuters. Additional information is available at www.sca.isr.umich.edu.
