{"id":276539,"date":"2023-08-31T13:16:56","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T11:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=276539"},"modified":"2023-08-31T13:16:59","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T11:16:59","slug":"consumer-confidence-drops-as-food-gas-prices-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=276539","title":{"rendered":"Consumer Confidence Drops as Food, Gas Prices Rise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From The Heartland Institute<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rising food cost and grocery prices surging costs of supermarket groceries as an inflation financial crisis concept coming out of a paper bag shaped hit by a a finance graph arrow with 3D render elements.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(The Center Square) \u2013 New data on consumer confidence shows that Americans are less confident about the U.S. economy, pointing to higher grocery and gas prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Conference Board, a business research group that tracks consumer confidence, released the new data which showed a decrease in the month of August to 106.1, much lower than the roughly 116 figure experts predicted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConsumer confidence fell in August 2023, erasing back-to-back increases in June and July,\u201d Dana Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board, said in the announcement. \u201cAugust\u2019s disappointing headline number reflected dips in both the current conditions and expectations indexes. Write-in responses showed that consumers were once again preoccupied with rising prices in general, and for groceries and gasoline in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That concern matches recent cost increases. According to AAA, the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $3.82, up from $3.75 a month ago. Diesel prices have spiked in the last month, up from $4.01 this time last month to $4.41 this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food prices have soared in recent years, putting a strain on Americans\u2019 budgets. In 2022, food prices rose about 10% far outpacing the already high inflation rate. In 2023, food prices rose significantly though at a much slower rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent analysis from the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that food prices will continue to rise through 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFood prices are expected to continue to decelerate but not decline in 2024,\u201d USDA said. \u201cIn 2024, all food prices are predicted to increase 2.8%, with a prediction interval of -2.0% to 7.9%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interest rates have soared as the U.S. Federal Reserve hikes rates to combat inflation, making borrowing money to buy a home far more expensive. Average rates nationally have topped 7%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group\u2019s research also found that those surveyed are more worried about the labor market. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its JOLT report Tuesday, which showed the number of available jobs dropped. The report showed that the number of open jobs declined to 8.8 million, down by-338,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExpectations for the next six months tumbled back near the recession threshold of 80, reflecting less confidence about future business conditions, job availability, and incomes, Peterson said. \u201cConsumers may be hearing more bad news about corporate earnings, while job openings are narrowing, and interest rates continue to rise\u2014making big-ticket items more expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The confidence did vary by demographic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe pullback in consumer confidence was evident across all age groups\u2014and most notable among consumers with household incomes of $100,000 or more, as well as those earning less than $50,000,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cConfidence held relatively steady for consumers with incomes between $50,000 and $99,999.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally published by\u00a0The Center Square.\u00a0<\/a>Republished with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more from\u00a0Budget & Tax News<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more public policy from\u00a0The Heartland Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(The Center Square) \u2013 New data on consumer confidence shows that Americans are less confident about the U.S. economy, pointing to higher grocery and gas prices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":276545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818069,691822220,691822221],"class_list":{"0":"post-276539","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-gas-prices","9":"tag-rising-food-cost","10":"tag-u-s-economy","12":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/0GroceryInflation_1200x800.jpg?fit=1080%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-19Wj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":204816,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=204816","url_meta":{"origin":276539,"position":0},"title":"Grocery Bill Shock: Starve the Poor to \u201cSave the Planet\u201d?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"17\/06\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Contributed by Robert Lyman \u00a9 2022. 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