US consumer confidence has fallen to a nine-year low amid growing anxieties about the economy and the threat of war.

The drop in a widely watched barometer of consumer confidence in February was the steepest since the September 11th terrorist attacks and sent world stock markets tumbling.

Yesterday's economic news in the US put renewed pressure on President George W Bush to resolve the dispute with Iraq and on Congress to conclude a compromise stimulus plan for the economy.

However, Federal Reserve officials, most notably chairman Mr Alan Greenspan, have routinely dismissed the consumer confidence figures as a flawed reading of sentiment and future consumer behaviour.

The ultimate confidence measure, they argue, is spending.

Yesterday, the National Association of Realtors said seasonally adjusted home sales had risen to a record annual rate of 6.09 million.

Reflecting low interest rates and some forced sales, this also suggests consumers might not be as anxious about their future job prospects as they have told pollsters.

The Conference Board reported its index of consumer sentiment sank nearly 15 points in February, its biggest one-month drop since September 2001, to 64.

It also said it saw no recovery in sight. Extending a reversal under way since May of last year, the index's decline was the eighth in nine months.

Based on a survey of roughly 5,000 US households, the report suggested a deepening gloom about the economy's current condition and its prospects.

"Lacklustre job and financial markets, rising fuel costs, and the increasing threat of war and terrorism appear to have taken a toll on consumers... with no apparent rebound on the short-term horizon," said Ms Lynn Franco, head of the board's Consumer Research Centre.