A widely watched measure of sentiment dropped to a five-year low in April, the fourth straight month of declines. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 62.3 in April, down from a revised 65.9 last month and 76.4 in February.
That was in line with the expectations of Wall Street economists, but leaves the index at its weakest point since it registered 61.4 in March 2003, ahead of the Iraq invasion.
"There isn't a lot for the consumers to be optimistic about," said Gary Thayer, senior economist at Wachovia Securities.
Economists closely watch sentiment readings since consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of the nation's economic activity.
The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
