« Backstreet Driver: Navigating the I-95 Speedway | Main | A decade after first Prius, Toyota's hybrid sales pass 1M »

Gas Prices Gnaw at Consumer Confidence

Consumer confidence tumbled to a 10-month low as gyrating gasoline prices and persisting problems in the housing market gnawed at people's sense of economic well-being, the Associated Press reports.

The magnitude of the drop shown in the latest RBC Cash Index was surprising given the healthy state of the nation's job market, which is usually an important factor coloring consumers' perceptions of how the economy and their own financial fortunes are faring.

But nagging worries about gasoline prices, if the yearlong housing slump will worsen and drag down home prices further and whether the economy will, in fact, snap out of its sluggish spell, are taking a toll on confidence, economists explained.

"There is too much uncertainty. That is the mindset of consumers right now," said Brian Bethune, economist at Global Insight

Posted by   at 12:37 PM to Gas prices | Permalink

Comments

Post a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)