Economics

Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Slumps to Lowest Level in a Year

  • University of Michigan gauge has biggest setback since 2012
  • Share hearing news of stock market woes highest in seven years

Pedestrians stroll by the fall window display at a Forever 21 store on 5th Avenue in New York, U.S., on Monday, Sept. 7, 2015.

Photographer: Craig Warga/Bloomberg
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Consumer sentiment declined in September to the lowest level in a year as Americans anticipated a weaker economy in the face of a global slowdown and turbulent financial markets.

The University of Michigan’s preliminary index dropped to 85.7 from an August reading of 91.9, the largest one-month decline since the end of 2012. Households were less upbeat than a few months earlier about future growth in employment and wages, while 73 percent of respondents reported hearing of negative economic developments.