Consumers feeling less confident about U.S. economy as prices keep rising: CNN

NEW YORK, June 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. consumer confidence continues to sour in the face of high gas and food prices and rising recession risks, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing new data released from The Conference Board.

The consumer confidence index for June dropped to 98.7 from May's revised reading of 103.2, which was adjusted downward by more than 3 points, according to the report.

Driving down the overall level was a steep decline in consumers' expectations for the next six months. The expectations index fell from 73.7 to a reading of 66.4 - the lowest level in nearly a decade, according to the report.

"Consumers' grimmer outlook was driven by increasing concerns about inflation, in particular rising gas and food prices," Lynn Franco, The Conference Board's senior director of economic indicators, said in a statement.

Despite confidence levels trending into pessimism territory, and hitting the lowest reading since February 2021, the index is higher than it was during the pandemic and stands significantly above the Great Recession doldrums, CNN noted in its report.