Consumer Confidence Falls to Nine-Month Low

Consumer confidence fell to a nine-month low this month, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index.

The month’s preliminary index fell to a reading of 75.2 from 77.5 in September.

Households are becoming pessimistic about the economy as the federal government shutdown begins its third week and a deadline to increase the debt limit draws near, Bloomberg news reported.

“Confidence is down a bit given the shenanigans in Washington,” Jim O’Sullivan, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, told Bloomberg News.

The index was slightly lower than economists’ median forecast of a 75.3 reading, Bloomberg reported.

The index averaged 64.2 during the recession that ended in June 2009 and 89 in the five years prior to that.