Consumer spending was down slightly in July and probably will record another drop for August, according to a Money Anxiety Index report released today.

In July, personal consumption expenditures fell 0.1 percent, a small decrease but the first drop since January, according to the Money Anxiety Index, a monthly measure of consumers’ level of financial worry and stress.

The decrease in personal consumption corresponds with the increase in the Money Anxiety Index for July and August, when the index increased 1.5 points, from 71.3 to 72.8, paving the way for the decrease in personal consumption in July and most likely in August, according to the index. This is despite predictions in June that the index would decrease. The Money Anxiety Index blames the increase in anxiety level on the international situation, particularly the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine.

Personal consumption in July declined $12 billion compared to an increase of $51.2 billion in June, a variance of $63 billion. The increase in the Money Anxiety Index in the third quarter indicates consumer spending will likely be lower than forecasted, thus lowering GDP expectations for the third quarter of 2014, according to the Money Anxiety Index.

The Money Anxiety Index has fluctuated from a high of 135.3 during the recession of the early 1980s, to a low of 38.7 in the mid-1960s.