NEW YORK, July 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. consumer confidence declined in July, missing market forecasts, as Americans expressed growing caution over current business and labor market conditions amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index decreased by 1.4 points to 90.8 in July, down from an upwardly revised 92.2 in June, the research institution said in a release issued on Tuesday.
"Consumer confidence moderated slightly in July, continuing a general downward sloping trajectory since late 2021," said Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board.
"The Present Situation Index was less positive for a third consecutive month while the Expectations Index remained in negative territory. Consumer appraisals of current business conditions and, to a lesser extent, perceptions of the current labor market both softened. Looking ahead, consumers anticipate little improvement in business conditions over the next six months, but expectations for the labor market were slightly less negative. Expectations for household incomes moderated but remained optimistic overall," added Peterson.
The Present Situation Index, based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions, fell by 3.6 points to 114.9, marking its third consecutive monthly decline. Net views of current business conditions -- the share of consumers saying conditions are "good" versus "bad" -- fell by 2.6 percentage points to a positive 1.1 percent, barely holding onto positive territory.
Perceptions of current employment conditions also softened. The labor market differential -- the share of consumers saying jobs are "plentiful" minus the share saying jobs are "hard to get" -- dipped by 0.7 percentage points to a positive 3.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the Expectations Index, which measures consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, remained unchanged at 74.7 in July.
However, the underlying data showed a mixed outlook, as two of the index's three components declined. Net expectations for business conditions dipped by 1.5 percentage points to negative 3.3 percent, while net expectations for household income softened by 0.5 percentage points to positive 7.3 percent.
Consumers' write-in responses on factors affecting the economy continued to be mostly pessimistic in July, said the release. References to prices and oil and gas eased in frequency but remain elevated.
