Washington  - A key gauge of US consumer confidence dropped to its lowest level since 1992 on Tuesday, increasing prospects of a slowdown in spending as the outlook for the world's largest economy continues to worsen.

The private New York-based Conference Board said its index dropped to 57.2 in May from 62.8 in April.

Growth in the United States was reported at 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2008, but most Americans and some economists believe the country's economy has entered a recession.

"Weakening business and job conditions coupled with growing pessimism about the short-term future have further depleted consumers' confidence in the overall state of the economy," Lynn Franco, research director at the Conference Board, said in a statement. (dpa)