Consumer confidence across the U.S. fell to its lowest point since 2014 this month, according to new data from the Conference Board, as rising fuel costs and economic uncertainty weighed on household sentiment nationwide — worries that echo concerns already circulating among Southcentral Alaska households and businesses watching the region’s tightening natural gas supply. The Consumer Confidence Index dropped 6.7 points to 81.9 in September, down from 88.6 in August and missing economists’ expectations by a wide margin.

Nearly every part of the report reflected the pullback. A measure of how Americans view current business and labor conditions fell 7.9 points to 109.3, while a separate expectations index dropped for a third consecutive month. Consumers’ net assessment of current business conditions turned negative for the first time since September 2024, a shift Conference Board chief economist Dana Peterson tied to two straight months of weakening results before this one.

Peterson said survey respondents’ written comments this month leaned heavily on concerns over prices — particularly gas and oil costs — as fuel prices climbed nationally through September. That national pressure lands alongside separate warnings from Alaska energy officials, who have cautioned Railbelt residents to prepare for potential power and heating conservation this winter amid a Cook Inlet gas crunch and tightening global markets.

A second national gauge, the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index, confirmed the trend, falling to 48.1 this month — a seven-week low and nearly 13% below last year’s reading. Taken together, the two reports suggest Anchorage-area households may be navigating both a national pullback in confidence and a distinctly regional energy squeeze at the same time this winter.