Inflation, COVID push consumer confidence to six-month low

Although the Conference Board's latest report shows drooping consumer confidence in August due to anxiety over surging COVID-19 infections and rising prices — home prices, in particular — there were also signs that spending was shifting from consumer goods to services, such as those related to vacation travel. Further, the Board's labor market differential metric maintained a decently-high reading of 42.8 for August, up from 44.1 in July, indicating that the population sees jobs as fairly plentiful.