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Consumer Confidence Largely Unchanged in July

Economists expected a decline to 95.5, according to a Bloomberg survey.

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The Conference Board reported its Consumer Confidence Index slipped a tenth of a point to 97.3 for July.

A gauge of USA consumer confidence edged lower, but was relatively unchanged in July, a sign American households are shrugging off global economic uncertainty in the wake of the Brexit vote.

The consumer confidence index decreased slightly to 97.3, down from 97.4 in June.

Lynn Franco, the Conference Board’s director of economic indicators, said the latest reading was consistent with “moderate” economic growth.

The present-situation index rose in July to 118.3 from a downwardly revised 116.6.

“Expectations regarding business and labor-market conditions, as well as personal-income prospects, declined slightly as consumers remain cautiously optimistic about growth in the near term”, she said.

Consumer confidence remains high in July, indicating that people in the USA are optimistic about prospects on the economy. The portion saying conditions are “bad” also increased, but more modestly.

Consumers were split on current economic conditions for July, but their outlook improved slightly overall. “In both instances, Americans’ outlook for the economy was largely responsible for the downward slide, as economic expectations are usually more responsive to short-term events than are current conditions”. About 23% say jobs are plentiful while 22.3% say their “hard to get”, little changed from the previous month. About 16.6 percent of consumers expect their incomes to increase, a smaller share than the 18.2 percent last month.

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About The Conference Board The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest.

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