US consumer confidence unexpectedly dropped in September on labour market concerns, according to survey data published on Tuesday, signalling dampening optimism about the economy ahead of November's presidential election.
That could prove challenging for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris given the economy remains a top concern for voters ahead of the election, in which she is running against Republican former president Donald Trump.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell sharply to 98.7 in September, down from a revised 105.6 last month.
This was well below market expectations, according to Briefing.com.
"The deterioration across the Index's main components likely reflected consumers concerns about the labor market," despite the jobs market actually remaining quite healthy, The Conference Board's chief economist Dana Peterson said in a statement.
"The proportion of consumers anticipating a recession over the next 12 months remained low but there was a slight uptick in the percentage of consumers believing the economy was already in recession," she added.
The steep decline in September was the largest since August 2021, with all five components of the index falling, according to Peterson.
The biggest drop in confidence was seen among respondents between the ages of 35 and 54, and among consumers earning less than $50,000 per year.
Meanwhile China unveiled some of its boldest measures in years on Tuesday aimed at boosting its struggling economy as leaders grapple with a prolonged property sector debt crisis, continued deflationary pressure and high youth unemployment.
The world's second-largest economy has yet to achieve a highly anticipated post-pandemic recovery and the government has set a goal of five percent growth in 2024 - an objective analysts say is optimistic given the headwinds it is facing.
AFP