NEW YORK — With Christmas less than eight weeks away, shoppers are feeling more forlorn about the economy than they have since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita battered the Gulf Coast two years ago.
The New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 95.6 from a revised 99.5 in September. It was the lowest reading since 85.2 in October 2005, when gas and oil prices soared after the hurricanes deluged New Orleans and shut down a large chunk of the nation’s oil refineries.
Analysts had expected a reading of 99.5 on Tuesday.
For retailers, the consumer- confidence report, which showed its third monthly decline in a row, heightens worries that the holiday shopping season will be challenging after a disappointing fall. For investors, it raised concerns that consumers’ growing wariness was another sign that the economy may be slowing too much. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.
Souring confidence is “certainly not what retailers want to see going into the holiday season,” said Wachovia Corp. economist Mark Vitner.
He added that consumers have more hurdles going into the season than even two years ago.
Another report said U.S. home prices fell nationwide in August for the eighth consecutive month, offering little hope of a turnaround anytime soon, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday.
An index of 10 U.S. metropolitan areas fell 5 percent in August from a year ago. That was the biggest drop since June 1991.
The index showed Denver prices dropping 0.4 percent over the past year.
