Investors' confidence in the U.S. economy fell to its lowest level in two years in November amid worries about high energy prices and the downturn in the housing market, a survey showed on Monday.
The UBS/Gallup Index of Investor Optimism fell to 44 in November, the lowest point since September, 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The index was down 26 points from 70 in October and less than half its level of 103 in January.
The decline in the index in November was the biggest one-month drop since September 2005.
Respondents remained pessimistic about prospects for the housing market, with 80 percent saying they believed that real estate conditions were deteriorating.
"The current slump in the economy will not right itself until we see an ease in the consumer credit crunch and some substantial improvement in the housing sector," Maury Harris, Chief US Economist at UBS Investment Bank, said in the report.
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