Americans' anxiety about corporate scandals and jobs dragged down consumer confidence to a four-month low in June in a reflection of lingering weakness in the economy.
The New York-based Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 106.4 this month from a revised 110.3 in May, the second biggest drop since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Analysts were expecting a reading of 106.0.
Sales of previously owned homes also dipped, although the figure for May was still the fourth-highest monthly level on record, largely because of low mortgage rates. Economists said the two reports point to moderate economic growth in the months ahead.
The National Association of Realtors reported yesterday that sales of existing homes edged down 0.3 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.75 million.
The index compares results to its base year, 1985, when it stood at 100. June's figure is the lowest since February, when consumer confidence stood at 95.0 amid congressional hearings investigating the Enron scandal.
The drop in confidence from last month also is the largest since the reading fell 11.7 points to 85.3 in October, after the terror attacks.
Weighing on confidence was consumers' assessment of the employment picture, according to the Conference Board.
Consumers reporting jobs were currently "hard to get" increased to 23.1 percent from 21.8 percent in May.
Fewer consumers, 20.1 percent in June, expect more jobs to become available in the next six months, compared to 21.2 percent in May.