Consumer confidence dipped in August, Conference Board says

NEW YORK — Consumer confidence dipped in August as Americans continue to worry about tariffs and high prices, according to The Conference Board. The latest reading from the business think tank found confidence fell 1.3 points in August, from 98.7 to 97.4. Consumers’ assessments about present and near-term economic conditions also fell slightly.

While confidence this month is similar to the past three months, “consumers’ appraisal of current job availability declined for the eighth consecutive month,” Conference Board Senior Economist of Global Indicators Stephanie Guichard said in a statement Tuesday.  

“Pessimism about future job availability inched up and optimism about future income faded slightly,” she said. “However, these were partly offset by stronger expectations for future business conditions.”

Consumers under the age of 35 were least confident about the economy, but sentiment was stable for consumers aged 35 to 55 and increased for individuals 55 and older. Among political groups, confidence fell for both Republicans and Democrats and was largely unchanged for independents.

Guichard said more consumers referenced tariffs as the cause of their concern about higher prices. A year from now, consumers expect inflation to increase to 6.2%. In July, they expected inflation in the year ahead to be 5.7%.

In July, the inflation rate was 2.7%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor of Statistics.

Consumers’ expectations of a recession over the next 12 months rose in August to its highlest level since April, when President Donald Trump first announced steep and sweeping tariffs on most U.S. trading partners.

The Conference Board said more people planned to purchase new and used cars in August compared with July. Their plans to buy other big-ticket items fell slightly, with fewer people planning to purchase televisions and tablets but more people planning to buy washers and dryers.

Fewer people said they plan to spend on discretionary items like dining out, entertainment and vacations.

“It’s really no surprise that people are feeling a bit pessimistic about the economy and their place within it,” NerdWallet Senior Economist Elizabeth Renter said of the survey. “It’s difficult to find or upgrade a job, interest rates are relatively high, the threat of tariff effects remain and there seems to be a new impactful development to economic policy each week.

“Negative consumer sentiment can impact the real economy through spending and saving behaviors,” she said. “Consumer spending has slowed, but not dramatically. We’ll get the latest spending data on Friday, which may indicate whether folks are holding their purse strings a bit more tightly amidst all of this economic uncertainty.”