The Consumer Comfort Index extended its September decline this week, with each of its three gauges further retreating from its pandemic peak this summer.

The CCI is down 4.8 points from its pandemic high five weeks ago, a swift reversal from an August advance to land at a nearly two-month low of 53.4 on its 0-100 scale. The monthlong decline is the index’s third-largest setback since its pandemic recovery began 16 months ago, following a 5.4-point drop from mid-June to mid-July and a 6.6-point fall last winter.

Among its components, Americans’ ratings of the national economy have slid the most, down 7.4 points from their pandemic high five weeks ago, the largest multi-week decline this year. That’s followed by a three-week, 4.3-point drop in assessments of whether or not it’s a good time to buy things and a 3.8-point decrease in Americans’ ratings of their personal finances from an 18-month high in late August.

As with the index overall, each of its subindices is at a roughly two-month low. Still, each remains far better than its worst of the pandemic:

• At 47.4, the national economy subindex is its lowest since early August, but 13.4 points better than at the start of the year and 24.9 points above its five-year low last May.
• The buying climate subindex, at an eight-week low of 45.6, is 4.5 points better than in early January and 16.8 points above its six-year low 16 months ago.
• At 67.2, the personal finances subindex is its lowest since late July, but 9.1 points above its level at the start of the year and 14.4 points better than its four-year low in May 2020.

Among groups, the CCI’s decline is sharpest among Republicans, down 11.6 points in five weeks to a 16-month low of 48.0. It’s down 6.7 points in four weeks among Democrats to 61.1, while steady among independents at 50.1. It’s also down more sharply among women, older adults, homeowners and those not currently employed for pay (including retirees, at-home spouses and students) compared with their counterparts.