Report: Consumer confidence drops to lowest level in a month

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Thursday showed that consumer confidence fell last week to the lowest level in a month, negatively impacted by rising fuel prices.



The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped to minus 44.5 in the week ended March 6, from the prior week’s minus 39.7, which was close to the highest in almost three years. Surging gas prices have left Americans concerned about personal finances.



“Rising gasoline prices extracted a toll,” Joseph Brusuelas, a senior economist at Bloomberg LP in New York City, told Bloomberg. “Those at the lower end of the income ladder and those in the middle are being squeezed by rising costs of fuel and food, which does not bode well for discretionary spending.”