Consumer sentiment hit a record low in June as Americans continued to face elevated prices for gas, food, and other goods and services.
The University of Michigan’s closely watched Surveys of Consumers consumer sentiment index was revised lower to 50.0 in the final June survey.
This marked the lowest level on record in data for the series, which spans back to the mid-1970s. In the preliminary monthly survey, the index registered 50.2.
Inflation, which last increased at the fastest pace in more than 40 years as of May, remained a pressing concern and a key contributor to the further erosion in sentiment.
“The final June reading confirmed the early-June decline in consumer sentiment … Consumers across income, age, education, geographic region, political affiliation, stockholding and homeownership status all posted large declines,” Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers, said in a statement.
“About 79% of consumers expected bad times in the year ahead for business conditions, the highest since 2009,” Hsu added. “Inflation continued to be of paramount concern to consumers; 47% of consumers blamed inflation for eroding their living standards, just one point shy of the all-time high last reached during the Great Recession.”
Read the full report from Emily McCormick in Yahoo Finance by clicking here.
