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The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index fell 6.7 points in September to 81.9, with consumers more concerned about fuel and other prices. Its measures of current conditions and short-term expectations also declined. The report links rising fuel costs to consumers’ comments, while other surveys also recorded weaker sentiment.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell 6.7 points in September to 81.9, as consumers’ concerns about fuel and the cost of goods and services rose, the organization said in a Sept. 29 release. Measures of current conditions and the short-term outlook also declined, signaling weaker assessments of the economy among surveyed consumers.
The index measuring consumers’ views of current business and labor market conditions dropped 7.9 points to 109.3. The measure tracking their short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions fell 5.9 points to 63.6, according to The Conference Board. These are separate components of the confidence report and reflect different assessments of present conditions and the months ahead.
Consumers’ written comments about the economy were mostly pessimistic in September, Dana M. Peterson, The Conference Board’s chief economist, said in the release. References to prices, the high cost of goods and services, and oil and gas prices rose to new highs in the responses, she said, reflecting a surge in fuel costs. That description concerns what respondents wrote; the release does not establish that fuel prices alone caused the index decline.
Peterson said references to war and conflict eased from the prior month but remained elevated. Separately, the University of Michigan’s final September survey found its Consumer Sentiment Index fell 7% from August and 12.7% from a year earlier. The PYMNTS Consumer Expectations Index declined 0.7 points to 54.1, with weaker views of the economy, buying conditions and job mobility; PYMNTS said views of the economy overall and the timing of large purchases accounted for most of that decrease.
Price Pressures Weigh on Confidence
The September readings show that consumer assessments weakened across several measures, not just in the overall Conference Board index. Falling views of present business and labor conditions, alongside a weaker short-term outlook, matter because households’ expectations can shape decisions about spending and major purchases. The figures record survey responses; they do not by themselves show how consumers will act or establish a direct effect on economic growth.
Price concerns are particularly relevant to household budgets because fuel and other everyday expenses affect the money available for discretionary purchases. The Conference Board’s account connects rising mentions of fuel costs with the month’s reported surge in fuel prices. AAA said on Sept. 24 that the national average gas price had reached its highest level ever for that time of year. The two reports provide related signals, but they use different measures and do not quantify how much gasoline prices contributed to the confidence decline.
The decline also adds to evidence from other September surveys that consumers saw economic conditions less favorably. Those surveys differ in their methods and scales, so their index values should not be compared directly. Taken together, they offer readers a timely measure of household sentiment while leaving open whether the weakness will persist.
September Surveys Point Lower
The Conference Board released its September results on Tuesday, Sept. 29. Its headline index combines consumers’ assessments of current conditions with expectations for the near term. In this report, the current-conditions measure stood at 109.3 after a 7.9-point decline, while the expectations measure was 63.6 after falling 5.9 points. Those readings provide context for the 81.9 headline figure, but each measures a distinct part of consumer sentiment.
Other reports released in the same week measured a similar direction of change. The University of Michigan’s final September results, reported Sept. 28, showed sentiment down 7% month over month and 12.7% year over year. Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said interviews showed broad agreement across the political spectrum that the economic outlook had weakened since the beginning of the year. The report said Republican sentiment was 20% below its January 2026 level and Democratic sentiment was down 13% over the same period.
PYMNTS’ September Consumer Expectations Index fell 0.7 points to 54.1. A separate PYMNTS Intelligence report on Gen X savings said rising regular expenses were contributing to lower saving. These publications add detail about consumer views and household pressures, but they are distinct reports and should not be treated as findings from The Conference Board’s survey.
““Overall, interviews reveal broad agreement across the political spectrum that the outlook for the economy has weakened since the beginning of the year.””
— Joanne Hsu, director of the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers
Cause and Duration Remain Open
The Conference Board release does not specify how much each factor contributed to the 6.7-point decline, or how the results varied across income groups or other demographic categories. Peterson linked the rise in fuel-related references to September’s surge in fuel costs, but the survey figures do not isolate fuel prices as the cause of the overall change.
It is also unclear whether the decline marks a sustained shift or a temporary response to recent costs and other concerns. The cited reports measure sentiment at different points and use different methods; none confirms what consumers will spend in coming months. The available material does not provide a subsequent Conference Board reading or a forecast for when confidence might recover.
Watch Upcoming Confidence Readings
Readers can compare the next Conference Board release with the September figures to see whether the headline index, current-conditions measure and expectations measure continue to fall or begin to recover. Upcoming inflation and fuel-price data may help clarify the cost backdrop consumers described, though those figures alone will not explain changes in survey responses.
Further readings from the University of Michigan and PYMNTS can show whether their separate measures move in the same direction. Until those updates are available, the confirmed development is a sharp September decline in The Conference Board’s confidence index alongside heightened consumer references to prices and fuel costs.
Key Questions
How much did The Conference Board’s confidence index fall?
It fell 6.7 points in September, ending the month at 81.9, according to The Conference Board.
Which parts of the index declined?
The measure of current business and labor market conditions fell 7.9 points to 109.3. The short-term expectations measure fell 5.9 points to 63.6.
What price concerns did consumers mention?
Chief economist Dana M. Peterson said written responses referred more often to prices, the cost of goods and services, and oil and gas prices. She linked the fuel references to a surge in fuel costs.
Did other September surveys also show weaker sentiment?
Yes. The University of Michigan reported its final September sentiment index down 7% from August and 12.7% from a year earlier. PYMNTS said its Consumer Expectations Index fell 0.7 points to 54.1. These are separate measures.
Does the report show that fuel prices caused the decline?
No. Peterson connected more frequent fuel-cost references in written responses with September’s fuel-cost surge, but the release does not quantify fuel’s contribution to the overall index decline.
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