The Conference Board’s reading on consumer confidence 46.6 for July, down from an unrevised figure of 49.3 in June. Bloomberg had the consensus reading pegged at 50.0, and it also noted that the lowest estimate was 47.0. The present situation index component fell to 23.4 from 25.0 in June, while the expectations component fell to 62.0 from 65.5 in June.
The Conference Board noted that this spring rebound in confidence has faded. Reasons cited were worsening job market data, particularly those claiming jobs are hard to find has risen. There is also a concern for spending here as the survey noted that consumers are pessimistic about their income expectations.
Those who said that business conditions are “bad” rose to 46.3% from 45.3%, but there was also a gain in those claiming business conditions were “good.” The “good” crowd rose to 9.1% from 8.1% in June.
Today’s data is a 5,000 household survey, and the cut-off date was July 21.
JON C. OGG
JULY 28, 2009
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