Consumers continue to feel pessimistic about the economy with The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index declining in June.
The Conference Board, a business research organization, said its consumer confidence index fell from 64.4 in May to 62 this month. The index scale runs as high as 100.
In addition, the Conference Board’s consumer expectations index fell from 77.3 to 72.3. The present situation index, on the other hand, grew from 44.9 in May to 46.6 in June.
“Consumer confidence declined in June, the fourth consecutive moderate decline,” said Lynn Franco, director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers were somewhat more positive about current conditions, but slightly more pessimistic about the short-term outlook. Income expectations, which had improved last month, declined in June. If this trend continues, spending may be restrained in the short-term.”
Consumers classifying business conditions as “good” increased to 14.9% from 13.6%.
Views of the current job market remain mixed. Survey respondents who said jobs are hard to get increased from 40.9% to 41.5%, while those claiming jobs are plentiful increased from 7.5% to 7.8%.
Those expecting to see more jobs created in the months ahead declined from 15.4% of those interviewed in May to 14.1% in June. Those expecting fewer jobs fell from 21.5% to 14.1%.
Consumers also are less likely to see their own income levels go up, only 14.8% expect to see their own financial situations improve, compared to 15.7% a month earlier.
Amna Asaf, economist for Capital Economics said, “The fourth consecutive monthly fall in the Conference Board’s measure of U.S. consumer confidence, to 62 in June from 64.4 in May, is a clear indication that the turmoil in equity prices remains a drag on sentiment.” At the same time, he says falling gas prices may have tempered concerns over inflation somewhat.
“There’s no fire right now in the consumer who sees no significant improvement ahead, likely the result at least in part from the troubles in Europe and the slowing in China both of which are hurting US business,” said Asaf.
