NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A closely watched measure of U.S. consumer confidence fell slightly in August, according to published reports Friday, raising worries about the continued strength of consumer spending, a pillar of the broader economy.
The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell to 87.9 in August from 88.1 in July, according to a Reuters report. Economists, on average, expected a reading of 89, according to Briefing.com. The report is available only to paying subscribers.
"We got a small decline, but it's understandable -- there was a lot of nervousness going into the certification of companies' financial statements and a general feeling of malaise that things were not copacetic," said Anthony Chan, chief economist at Banc One Investment Advisors.
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The university's current conditions index, which measures how consumers feel about the economy at present, rose to 100.2 from July's reading of 99.3. But the expectations index, measuring how consumers feel about the future, dipped to 80 from 81.
U.S. stock prices were little affected by the data, continuing to trade lower. Treasury bond prices rose.
Other data released Friday morning did little to support stock prices or stir much optimism about the economy. On the positive side, consumer prices appeared to be contained, growing just 0.1 percent in July, according to a Labor Department report.
On the negative side, housing starts fell for the second straight month, according to a Commerce Department report.
A robust housing market, fueled by super-low mortgage rates, boosted home prices, making consumers feel wealthier and allowing them to borrow on the increased equity in their homes or refinance their homes at a lower interest rate, giving them more money to spend.
Consumer spending is critical to the broader U.S. economy, making up about two-thirds of total gross domestic product (GDP).
Low borrowing costs were fueled by 11 interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2001, part of an effort to fight a recession that began in March 2001. Seeing recent signs of a soft patch in the economy's growth, some on Wall Street want the Fed to cut rates again -- though it's questionable how much consumer spending that would encourage at this point.
"The fed was very aggressive with cutting rates, and that affected rate-sensitive areas of the economy, such as housing and autos. That leaves us with a problem, which is a lack of pent-up demand in the recovery phase," Gail Dudack, chief investment strategist at SunGard Institutional Brokerage, told CNNfn's Market Call program.
"We have to be patient with this recovery," Dudack added. "It's not going to be a youthful one; it will be a slow, lumbering one."
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