The Conference Board announced on Tuesday its U.S. consumer confidence fell 5.9 points to 109.3 in September from 115.2 in August. This was the lowest reading since February.

Economists had expected consumer confidence to come in at 114.5.

August’s consumer confidence reading was revised up from the originally estimated 113.8.

The survey showed that the present situation index dropped from 148.9 in August to 143.4 this month. Meanwhile, the expectations index decreased from 92.8 last month to 86.6 in September.

“Consumer confidence dropped in September as the spread of the Delta variant continued to dampen optimism,” noted Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “Concerns about the state of the economy and short-term growth prospects deepened, while spending intentions for homes, autos, and major appliances all retreated again. Short-term inflation concerns eased somewhat, but remain elevated. Consumer confidence is still high by historical levels - enough to support further growth in the near-term - but the Index has now fallen 19.6 points from the recent peak of 128.9 reached in June. These back-to-back declines suggest consumers have grown more cautious and are likely to curtail spending going forward.”