Consumer sentiment, as measured by the RBC Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Household (CASH) Index, has dropped to the lowest levels since the CASH Index was created six years ago.

It stands at 48.5 for February, almost eight points below January's 56.3, writes MarketingCharts.

Consumer sentiment fell across the board, driven especially by declining confidence in current conditions and growing worries about job security and investing, according to the survey of 1,006 Americans conducted this week by Ipsos.

"This month's reading indicates a very poor mood among consumers who are confronted with news about a housing recession, falling stock prices, problems in the banking system and a deteriorating overall economic environment," said T. J. Marta, economic and fixed income strategist for RBC Capital Markets.

"With consumer spending driving 70 percent of the US economy, a pullback in spending increases the risk that the country could tip into recession."

The RBC CASH Index is a monthly national survey of consumer attitudes on the current and future state of local economies, personal finance situations, savings and confidence to make large investments. The Index is composed of four sub-indices: RBC Current Conditions Index; RBC Expectations Index; RBC Investment Index; and, RBC Jobs Index.

MarketingCharts provides highlights of the survey results for each sub-index.