The National Federation of Independent Business said on Tuesday its Small Business Optimism Index dropped 1.1 points to 89.0 last month, the lowest level since January 2013. It was the 16th straight month that the index remained below the 49-year average of 98.
"The decline is broadly in line with the weakness in consumer sentiment seen over the past year," said Michael Pearce, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York. Thirty percent reported all their credit needs were met, up a point from the prior month. Fifty-nine percent said they were not interested in a loan, unchanged from March. A net 6% reported their last loan was harder to get than in previous attempts, down three points, while 4% reported financing was their top business problem, up one point from March.