Consumer Confidence Falls to 31-Year Low

Consumer confidence plummeted in August to its lowest level since May 1980, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.

The month’s preliminary index dropped to a reading of 54.9, from 63.7 in July.

The reading was well below economists’ median forecast of a drop to a 62 reading, Bloomberg reported.

The index averaged a reading of 89 in the five years leading up to the recession at the end of 2007.