China News Service, June 1. The American Overseas Chinese News reported that a new poll released by Gallup on Tuesday (May 31) showed that in the case of rising inflation and soaring prices, Gasoline prices hit a record high, pushing public pessimism about the U.S. economy to its highest level since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic.

The findings echo a recent CBS poll that also found widespread pessimism about the state of the economy.

　　The Gallup poll was conducted May 2-22 among more than 1,000 adults from all 50 states, CBS reported.

It found that confidence in the U.S. economy is now at its lowest level since the end of the Great Recession in early 2009.

　　Gallup noted in a release that the poll was conducted against the backdrop of "record gasoline prices, rising inflation, government reports of slower economic growth in the first quarter of the year, and a slump in the stock market," and "low unemployment." It was a rare bright spot, but employers are still struggling to find workers to fill vacancies, leading to long-standing supply chain issues."

　　When asked about the most important issue facing the U.S. right now, 18 percent of respondents specifically cited inflation, the survey found.

Only 14% of respondents think the current state of the U.S. economy is "excellent" or "good," 46% think the U.S. fiscal situation is "bad," and 39% think it's "fair."

　　In addition, 20% of respondents believe the economy is improving, while as many as 77% believe it is deteriorating.

　　Fears that the U.S. could soon slip into a recession have added to the negative sentiment, as the Federal Reserve tries to tame inflation by raising interest rates, coupled with a surge in commodity prices due to the Russia-Ukrainian conflict.

In the first three months of the year, U.S. economic activity shrank as imports increased and exports fell.

　　For now, though, most economists are shrugging off the risk of an economic downturn this year.

The probability of a recession is about 30 percent, according to research by Moody's Analytics and a Wall Street Journal survey of economists.

　　"The debate about recession, not recession/soft landing or hard landing will depend on the U.S. consumer behavior. Low-income households are certainly most vulnerable to real wage movements, high-income households are most likely to be affected by stock market movements, and households in the middle are affected by both.”

　　The findings were similar to another indicator that sees a decline in consumer confidence, with the Conference Board's index of consumer confidence falling to its lowest level since February in May.

Consumers expect costs to rise more than 7 percent in 2023, according to a report by the business group on Tuesday (May 31).

The group also found that consumers made fewer purchases in May for cars, homes and appliances.

　　"Inflation remains the top concern for consumers, with May inflation expectations largely unchanged from April's highs," Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Confederation of Big Business, said in a statement. The spike and further rate hikes will pose persistent downside risks to consumer spending."

　　Mahir Rasheed, a U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, predicts that consumer confidence will likely remain pessimistic until price pressures ease in late 2022 and early 2023.

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