{"id":1000,"date":"2026-09-25T18:59:06","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T18:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/?p=1000"},"modified":"2026-09-25T18:59:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T18:59:06","slug":"consumer-sentiment-drops-near-all-time-low-as-prices-weigh-on-shoppers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/?p=1000","title":{"rendered":"Consumer sentiment drops near all-time low as prices weigh on shoppers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A person pumps gas at a Mobil gas station on September 24, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(WASHINGTON) — Consumer sentiment dropped in September close to the lowest level ever recorded in the 74-year history of the University of Michigan’s monthly survey<\/a>, fresh data on Friday showed.<\/p>\n

Shopper attitudes soured as a monthlong bout of inflation squeezed<\/a> consumers and an underlying oil supply shock<\/a> showed little sign of imminent resolution.<\/p>\n

The final reading of the University of Michigan index registered at 48.1 in September, marking the second-lowest final reading ever recorded. The index hit a historic low of 44.8 in May, just months after the outbreak of the Iran war, before ticking slightly upward to a level of 51.7 by August.<\/p>\n

Prices rose<\/a> at an annual rate of 3.4% in August, the most recent month on record, federal government data showed. Inflation stands more than a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.<\/p>\n

The average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. is $4.49, according to AAA<\/a>, marking a roughly 50% jump since the war began in late February.<\/p>\n

Shoppers expect inflation to rise even more over the next year, the University of Michigan consumer survey found, while individuals\u2019 view of their financial outlook has worsened.<\/p>\n

Democrats and Republicans alike displayed sizable declines in consumer sentiment in September from the previous month, Surveys of Consumers director Joanne Hsu said in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n

In response to rising prices, a key long-term Treasury rate hit its highest level in nearly two decades on Wednesday, days after the Federal Reserve raised<\/a> benchmark borrowing costs. The rise in borrowing costs has pushed up rates for loans like credit cards and mortgages, threatening to worsen the financial crunch.<\/p>\n

Investors peg a two in three chance of another quarter-point interest rate hike next month, according to the CME FedWatch Tool<\/a>, a measure of market sentiment.<\/p>\n

Despite a stubborn bout of inflation, the economy remains fairly robust by some measures.<\/p>\n

A blockbuster jobs report earlier this month showed<\/a> employers added 162,000 workers in August, demonstrating continued resilience for the nation’s labor market. The economy grew over three months ending in June, defying fear of a downturn triggered by the Iran war.<\/p>\n

Still, persistently elevated prices have continued to take a toll on shoppers, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said at a press conference in Washington, D.C., last week.<\/p>\n

“The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long,” Warsh said.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A person pumps gas at a Mobil gas station on September 24, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell\/Getty Images) (WASHINGTON) — Consumer sentiment dropped in September close to the lowest level ever recorded in the 74-year history of the University of Michigan’s monthly survey, fresh data on Friday showed. Shopper attitudes soured as a monthlong […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}