Craig Wolf writes in the Poughkeepsie Journal - “New York’s consumers showed less confidence in August than in July, the Siena Research Institute reported Thursday.

The state’s half-point decline was the lowest August reading of the past four years.

“It’s hard to put a positive spin on these numbers,” Douglas Lonnstrom said in a statement.

The Siena College professor who founded the institute added, “Statewide, our numbers are weak and depict worried consumers very reluctant to spend.”

The half-point drop contrasted with a 1.1-point rise found in a comparable national survey done by the University of Michigan.

The New York index stands at 62.5, which is 6.4 points below that of the nation.

Future buying plans were weak.”

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