Specifically, as reported by the French News Agency, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell in June to 50 points, the lowest level in the 45 years of the survey's establishment, showing a drop of more than eight points compared to May and more than 41% compared to June last year.
Strong consumer demand underpinned the world's largest economy's strong recovery from the Covid-19 recession, but consumers are now feeling considerable pressure from large price increases in housing, fuel and food, which were exacerbated by the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"Inflation continued to be a primary concern for consumers," said survey director Joanne Hsu.
She noted that the final survey data showed that "47% of consumers blame inflation for the erosion of their standard of living," just one percentage point short of the all-time high reached during the Great Recession.
The Federal Reserve last week made the biggest interest rate hike in nearly 30 years, raising rates by 0.75 percentage points in an attempt to counter inflationary pressures.
Rising prices for energy and food
"will continue to threaten the long-term outlook for inflation targeting," said Mahir Rasheed of Oxford Economics.
And a further rise in expectations could trigger an even more aggressive tightening policy from the Fed, constraining growth and weighing on the climate, he added.
There are heightened concerns that Fed rate hikes could trigger an economic recession.
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