<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Consumers became significantly more pessimistic in August due to a combination of persistent inflation pressures and fears over the Delta variant.  The Conference Board reported that Consumer Confidence suffered its biggest decline since last year’s pandemic-induced recession.  The -12.4 point decline in the Future Expectations component was especially pronounced (bottom graph).  If this loss of confidence starts to be reflected in consumer spending (which accounts for approximately two-thirds of U.S GDP), the U.S. economy could suddenly find itself skating on thin ice.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:image {"align":"center","id":11364,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img src="https://ns2020-investech.investech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/cons_confidence.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-11364"/></figure></div>
<!-- /wp:image -->