US consumer confidence index dives to 16-month new low

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Storyline

U.S. consumer confidence continues to sour in the face of high gas and food prices and rising recession risks, with the index plunging to a 16-month new-low in June, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday.

The report showed that the consumer confidence index for June dropped to 98.7 from May’s revised reading of 103.2, being the first time the figure has dived under 100 since February last year.

In the meantime, the expectations index fell from 73.7 to a reading of 66.4 – the lowest level since March 2013, according to the Conference Board report.

Lynn Franco, the Conference Board’s senior director of economic indicators, pinned consumers’ grimmer outlook on increasing concerns about inflation, in particular rising gas and food prices

A Forbes report said the median black household has a net worth of about 24,000 U.S. dollars, about one-eighth the figure for white households.

The house-owning rate for blacks is also significantly lower while more of them live in distant areas. Hence many people believe they appear to be more vulnerable in face of the latest round of inflation.