Consumer confidence worsened slightly in August, erasing some gains from the previous month and resuming a downward trend suffered at the outset of 2025, the Conference Board said on Tuesday.The souring of shopper attitudes followed a weak jobs report and a set of sweeping new tariffs issued by President Donald Trump.A lower-than-expected inflation report this month eased some concerns about significant tariff-induced price increases, though a measure of underlying inflation ticked up.The consumer confidence index declined 1.3 points to 97.4 in August, the Conference Board said.
The figure came in higher than economists expected.The index has hovered around the same level over the past three months.MORE: Trump says he's firing Fed Reserve Board Governor Lisa CookConsumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S.
economic activity, is a key bellwether for the outlook of the nation's economy.The measure of consumer confidence arrived hours after Trump moved to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, alleging that she had committed mortgage fraud.In a statement to ABC News, Cook said Trump "has no authority" to fire her.Cook said she would not resign, instead vowing to "continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy."The Fed is an independent agency established by Congress.
Federal law allows the president to remove a member of the Fed board for "cause" -- though no precedent exists for such an ouster.Popular ReadsNational Guard troops in DC are now armed: Defense officialAug 24, 5:57 PMAbrego Garcia coerced to take guilty plea or be deported to Uganda, his attorneys sayAug 23, 3:30 PMSupreme Court formally asked to overturn landmark same-sex marriage rulingAug 11, 4:59 AMSome recent indicators have suggested the onset of an economic slowdown.A report on gross domestic product late last month indicated average annualized growth of 1.2% over the first half of 2025, well below 2.5% growth last year.People shop at a retail store in New York,...