Americans’ feelings about the economy continue to worsen

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Americans’ outlooks on the economy remain down in the dumps this month, new data released Friday showed.

The University of Michigan’s preliminary read on consumer sentiment for October showed its closely watched index falling to 46.3 from 48.1 last month.

Consumers are wrangling with a high cost-of-living environment where inflation continues to run above normal and gas prices have soared higher in recent months as a result of the war in Iran. In September, borrowing got even more expensive when the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in three years.

If Friday’s lower-than-expected reading were to hold when the final data is released later this month, it would be the second-lowest level on record .

The survey dates back to 1952, meaning Americans are feeling worse now than they did during the 1970s oil crisis, 9/11, the Great Recession, the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation surge afterward.

The five lowest-ever readings for the index all occurred within the past six months (with the record being set in May ).

“Frustration over cost-of-living continues to mount, as consumers across the political spectrum believe that the trajectory of the economy has weakened since the beginning of the year,” Joanne Hsu, director of the university’s Surveys of Consumers, said in a statement.

This story is developing and will be updated.

Charles-McClintock Wilson/NurPhoto/Getty Images

周五公布的新数据显示，本月美国人对经济的预期依然低迷。

密歇根大学10月份消费者信心指数的初步数据显示，备受关注的该指数从上月的48.1降至46.3。

消费者正面临着高昂的生活成本，通货膨胀持续高于正常水平，而受伊朗战争的影响，近几个月来汽油价格飙升。9月份，美联储三年来首次加息，使得借贷成本进一步增加。

如果周五低于预期的读数在本月晚些时候公布的最终数据中保持不变，那将是历史第二低水平。

该调查可以追溯到 1952 年，这意味着美国人现在的感受比 20 世纪 70 年代的石油危机、9/11 事件、大衰退、新冠肺炎疫情以及随后的通货膨胀飙升时期还要糟糕。

该指数有史以来的五个最低读数均出现在过去六个月内（其中最低记录是在五月份创下的）。

“生活成本上涨带来的不满情绪持续加剧，各政治派别的消费者都认为，自年初以来，经济增长势头有所减弱，”该大学消费者调查主任许乔安妮在一份声明中表示。

此事件仍在发展中，我们将持续更新报道。