US consumer confidence plunged 6.7 points to 81.9 in September, the lowest level since April 2014, as households reported worsening views of business and labor-market conditions. The Conference Board reading was well below economists' Reuters forecast of 89.2 and reflected growing concern about prices, energy costs, mortgage rates and the six-month economic outlook ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The survey's deterioration cut across political affiliations, age groups and income levels. The share of consumers saying jobs were plentiful fell to 23.6% from 24.5% in August, while those describing jobs as hard to get rose to 21.9% from 20.3%. The labor-market differential narrowed to 1.7% from 4.2%. Separate Labor Department data showed job openings fell by 256,000 to 7.079 million at the end of August, or 1.01 openings per unemployed person. The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4.00% and indicated that further increases were possible. Home prices rose 2.6% year over year through July, while the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 7.03% last week. Earlier reporting in the existing record described the conflict as an Iran war, while the latest account refers to the Middle East conflict and a US-Israeli war.