Consumer spending increased last month, but consumer confidence didn’t follow.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved slightly in July, plummeted in August, the board said today. The index is now at 44.5, down from 59.2 in July.

That is the index’s lowest level in more than two years, since a 40.8 reading in April 2009.

“A contributing factor may have been the debt ceiling discussions, since the decline in confidence was well under way before the S&P downgrade,” Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center, said in a release. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions, on the other hand, posted only a modest decline as employment conditions continue to suppress confidence.”

Consumers saying business conditions are “bad” increased to 40.6 percent from 38.7 percent, and those saying business conditions are “good” stood at 13.7 percent, a slight increase from 13.5 percent the previous month.

Those claiming jobs are “hard to get” increased to 49.1 from 44.8 percent, and those stating jobs are “plentiful” declined to 4.7 percent from 5.1 percent.

The reading was far below what had been anticipated by economists. Economists polled by Briefing.com had predicted a reading of 52.