US consumer gloom deepens in June

News Type: Event — Seeded on Tue Jun 24, 2008 12:13 PM EDT

Article Source: BBC News

business, economy, inflation, consumer, consumer-confidence

The Conference Board's survey is closely watched because consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of US economic activity.

The confidence index, which is based on responses from 5,000 US households, has fallen steadily over the past year and stood at 111.9 last July.

The Conference Board's director of consumer research, Lynn Franco, believes the economy could be stuck in low gear for some time.

"Looking ahead, consumers' economic outlook is so bleak that the (Conference Board's) Expectations Index has reached a new all-time low," she said.

"Perhaps the silver lining to this otherwise dismal report is that consumer confidence may be nearing a bottom."

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