Gallup: Obama job approval ratings fall

PRINCETON, N.J., March 5 (UPI) -- U.S. President Obama's job approval rating sank during the weekend to its lowest level in Gallup's three-day tracking since his re-election, the pollster said.

Obama's approval rating was 46 percent for the Friday-through-Sunday tracking period, down from 53 percent a week earlier, Politico reported.

The drop comes after Obama and Congress failed to reach a last-minute deal to prevent the automatic across-the-board cuts of $85 billion in federal spending, which went into effect Friday.

His disapproval rating in the Princeton, N.J., polling agency's tracking rose to its highest level since November, reaching 46 percent during the weekend, up from 40 percent a week earlier.

Gallup surveys about 1,500 adults by telephone nationwide each day and records the average ratings for a three-day period. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.