The confidence among US consumers fell to a 16- year low during May, the Conference Board announced on Tuesday, saying that the troubled economy and the surging oil prices led to an all- time high inflation expectations.

The Conference Board’s confidence index fell to 57.2, lower than expected, showing that people are less willing to spend, which will beapen the economic crunch that had hit the United States.

The business research firm reported that the index, which was descending all year, never was this low since October 1992, when it stood at 54.6, while in April it was 62.8.

The index is considered to be a gauge of future consumer spending, which is ultimately the main drive of the US economic activity, covering around two- thirds of it.

The housing slump, the huge price of gasoline, which reached 4 dollars per gallon and the less and less jobs to be found, combined with job losses could cause Americans to reduce their spending even more.

Basides the confidence index, other indexes of the business research firm also declined in May. The present situation index, which reffers to the current conditions, fell to 74.4 from April’s 81.9.

Meanwhile, the expectations index dropped to 45.7, compared to 50.0, suggesting that consumers do not have great hopea of a turnaround in the next six months.

Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board consumer research center, said that the pessimistic view of the US consumers was caused by the weakening business conditions and the declining job market, all toghether with the surging fuel prices that lead to a inflation expectation.