Americans still feel worse about the economy than at almost any point in modern history

By Alicia Wallace, CNN

(CNN) — US consumer sentiment fell to its second-lowest level on record in September as high gas prices further soured Americans’ views of the economy.

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index for September dipped to 48.1, notching a 7% decline from August and a nearly 13% drop from a year ago, according to data released Friday.

The survey dates back to 1952, meaning Americans are feeling worse now than they did during wars, the 1970s oil crisis, 9/11, the Great Recession, the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation surge afterward.

The four lowest-ever readings for the index all occurred within the past six months.

The final reading for September did, however, mark a slight improvement from preliminary readings.

The closely watched consumer sentiment gauge shows that Americans are deeply unhappy with the state of their personal finances and the broader economy.

After navigating a once-in-a-century global pandemic, US households have had to contend with higher-than-normal inflation – and the compounding effects of fast-rising prices – for the past five and a half years.

Those cost-of-living concerns only deepened this year as the US-Israeli war with Iran set off a monthslong conflict that negatively impacted the global supply of oil and escalated prices at the pump.

This story is developing and will be updated.

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