ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Even low gasoline prices can’t cheer up American consumers when it comes to the economy.
According to NACS’ August consumer survey, just 44% of consumers said they were “somewhat optimistic” or “very optimistic” about the state of the economy. This is a three-point drop from the July survey, and a five-point drop from the August 2015 survey, when 49% were feeling optimistic.
The least optimistic consumers were in the Northeast, where only 37% felt good about economic conditions. The most optimistic were millennials—consumers between the ages of 18 and 34—with 51% in a positive mood.
This general malaise has deepened even as gasoline prices continue to decline. In the August NACS survey, consumers reported a median gasoline price of $2.10 per gallon. This is 16 cents per gallon (CPG) less than the median price from the July survey, and 28 CPG below the summer 2016 high of $2.38 in June.
It’s not that consumers don’t notice paying less at the pump. In fact, 42% reported that gasoline prices have dropped in their area within the past 30 days. This compares to 31% in the July survey who reported a price decline, at a time when pump prices were falling across the country.
And most expected the low gasoline prices to stick around, with 59% of consumers in the August survey anticipating pump prices to stay the same or fall in the next month.
Gasoline prices have steadily dropped in the past couple of years. August 2016’s reported median price of $2.10 per gallon is 54 CPG lower than August 2015, and $1.40 per gallon lower than the price in August 2014.
These results suggest that economic optimism is disconnecting from the price of gas. Only 22% of consumers in the August survey said pump prices have a “great impact” on their attitude about the economy. This matches the figure from the July survey, and is the lowest percentage in the history of NACS’ monthly consumer surveys, which began in January 2013.
One trigger for this separation of economic optimism and gas prices? The 2016 presidential election.
“Consumer optimism has decoupled from gas-price changes for only the second time in three years—and in both cases the news was dominated by politics,” said Jeff Lenard, NACS vice president of strategic industry initiatives. “It’s likely that the recent political conventions pushed down optimism and the rancor of the campaigns is taking its toll on consumer optimism.”
NACS’s monthly consumer surveys are conducted online by Penn Schoen Berland. The most recent survey, conducted Aug. 2-5, included 1,149 U.S. adults who purchase fuel for a vehicle on at least a monthly basis. For a summary of results, click here.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.