Obama's approval rating hits record low

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama’s job approval rating has sunk below 40 percent for the first time, according to a new Gallup daily tracking poll.

The survey, made public late Sunday, shows that 39 percent of Americans approve of the president’s job performance, while 54 percent disapprove.

Both figures are the worst numbers of his presidency, according to US media reports.

Obama’s approval rating peaked at 53 percent in the weeks following the death of Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US special forces in Pakistan in May.

But it has been steadily declining in the wake of economic reports showing anemic growth and Standard & Poor’s decision to downgrade the US credit rating.

The three-day tracking poll of approximately 1,500 adults was conducted by telephone between August 11-13. It had a margin of error of three percentage points.