(The Conference Board: New York) -- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved slightly in July 2011, plummeted in August. The index now stands at 44.5 (1,985 = 100), down from 59.2 in July. The Present Situation Index decreased to 33.3 from 35.7. The Expectations Index decreased to 51.9 from 74.9 last month.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by The Nielsen Co., a global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was Aug. 18, 2011.

“Consumer confidence deteriorated sharply in August, as consumers grew significantly more pessimistic about the short-term outlook,” says Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “The index is now at its lowest level in more than two years [since April 2009, at 40.8]. A contributing factor may have been the debt ceiling discussions, since the decline in confidence was well underway before the S&P downgrade. Consumers’ assessment of current conditions, on the other hand, posted only a modest decline as employment conditions continue to suppress confidence.”

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