Americans' confidence in the economy has plunged to an 11-month low
Americans' confidence in the economy continues to slide.
In fact, it's down to an 11-month low.
Gallup's weekly economic confidence poll shows that US Economic Confidence Index fell three points, down to -17, following a three-point decline the previous week, amid a jumpy stock market and stuttering China.
The index, which combines views on current economic conditions and expectations for the future, has been on a generally downward trend since the beginning of this year.
Gallup also noted that the current poll showed that 23% of Americans rated the current economy as "excellent or good," while 31% rated it as poor. Additionally, 35% of Americans believe that the economy is getting better, while a whopping 60% say that it's getting worse.
Nevertheless, Gallup's Justin McCarthy suggests that this recent confidence slump is a reaction to the recent volatility, and could improve in the near future:
"The plunge in China's stock market has caused repercussions far beyond Asia, sending financial markets worldwide into tailspins last week. In the U.S., combined losses of over 1,000 points in the Dow Jones industrial average have pushed Americans' economic confidence further into negative territory. Late last week, U.S. markets appeared to stabilize somewhat -- in part because of positive indicators of the strength of the domestic economy, including a much better than initially reported GDP growth rate for the second quarter. While the Dow still struggles amid uncertainty in Asia, Americans' economic confidence seems to be recovering."
As an end point, it's worth noting that, relatively speaking, the US economy actually looks pretty good right now.
