Consumer confidence in the United States sank in January to its lowest level since 2014, survey data showed on Tuesday, as American households continued to worry about inflation and the elevated cost of living.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell 9.7 points to 84.5 from December, with consumers becoming more cautious about big spending decisions.

“Confidence fell in January as consumer concerns about both the current situation and expectations for the future increased,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist at the research group.

She added that all five components of the index worsened, taking the overall level to its lowest level since May 2014 — “surpassing the depths of its Covid-19 pandemic.”

Views on current business conditions have “diminished to barely positive”, while perceptions of employment conditions have also weakened, the report said.

Meanwhile, consumers tend to be pessimistic about factors influencing the economy.

“References to prices and inflation, oil and gas prices and food and grocery prices remained elevated,” Peterson said.

“Tariffs and trade, politics and labor market mentions also increased in January, and health/insurance and war were up,” she added.

Consumers also increasingly indicated that they are not planning to make big-ticket purchases in the next six months, suggesting that they are becoming more selective in their spending.

“Used cars, furniture, TVs and smartphones remained the most popular among their categories for future purchases,” the conference board said.

by/des