The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell 0.8 points in
August to 89.4, the lowest reading year-to-date; July was revised lower. The
The median economist forecast was 90.2. The report cited elevated gasoline prices,
broader living-cost pressures and slowing hiring as ongoing strains on
households. The survey ran Aug. 3–16, a period when renewed US–Iran tensions
lifted oil and kept the national average pump price above $4/gal. Consumers’
assessment of current labor market conditions improved — the share saying jobs
are “plentiful” rose and those saying jobs are “hard to get” fell, widening the
spread to its largest so far this year — but six-month employment and income
expectations grew more pessimistic.
