Washington (awp/afp) – US consumer confidence improved a little in July but remains very close to the all-time low reached in June. The index reflects lingering concerns about inflation and deteriorating employment prospects.
The index measured by the University of Michigan came in at 51.5 points, up 3.0% from June but a plunge of 36.6% from July 2021, according to the estimate. final published on Friday. It is a little better than expected, however, since analysts were counting on 51.1 points, according to several consensuses.
There was “little change in consumer sentiment in July from its historic low in June,” survey director Joanne Hsu said in a statement. It thus reports “a modest decline in long-term inflation expectations”, but indicates that the rise in prices “continues to dominate the attention of consumers”, while “the outlook for the labor market has continued to weaken”.
In detail, the index measuring the current situation climbed 8.0% and stood at 58.1 points. On the other hand, that measuring the outlook fell by 0.4%, and fell to 47.3 points, its lowest since 1980. Inflation reached in June a new record for more than 40 years, at +9.1% over a year.
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