Consumer confidence plunges to lowest level since 2014: Conference Board

Consumer confidence plunged in September to its lowest reading since 2014 as investors face a wave of headwinds.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index dropped to 81.9 from the previous month's reading of 88.6, which was revised down from 89.4, per Conference Board data published Tuesday. Economists had been looking for a sharply higher reading of 89.

The index level fell as consumers digested bond yields at multidecade highs , the seventh month of the Iran war, worries about AI , and a host of other potential risks.

Sticky inflation remains in focus for US households facing growing price pressures, and concerns about elevated energy prices featured prominently in the survey's comments, The Conference Board said.

US gasoline prices have surged higher since the start of the Iran war in late February, averaging $4.45 on Tuesday compared to $3.13 a year ago, per AAA.

"Consumers' write-in responses regarding factors affecting the economy were mostly pessimistic in September," Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, said in a statement. "References to prices, the high cost of goods and services, and oil and gas prices in particular, rose to new heights."

US households also reported markedly worse outlooks on both their current situations and their future expectations.

The Conference Board's present situation index fell to 109.3 from the previous month's 117.2 — revised down from 121.2 — while economists had been looking for a reading of 120.2. The expectations index was 63.6, against expectations of 68.5 and August's revised reading of 69.5.

"Consumer appraisals of current business conditions became negative for the first time since September 2024," Peterson said. "Perceptions of the current labor market also worsened, though remained within positive territory."

"Over the next six months, consumers expected both business conditions and the labor market to weaken. Consumers still anticipated their household incomes to rise, but less so compared to previous months," Peterson added.

Jake Conley is a breaking news reporter covering US equities for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X at @byjakeconley or email him at jake.conley@yahooinc.com .