US consumer confidence exceeds expectations in July

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Conference Board's US Consumer Confidence Index rose 2 points to 97.2 in July, reversing a downward move in the previous month, according to data released Tuesday.

The figure for June was revised up to 95.2 points, while markets expected the July figure to come in at 95.9.

The Present Situation Index, which reflects American consumers' assessments of current job and labor market conditions, fell 1.5 points to 131.5 in July.

The Expectations Index, which is consumers' short-term assessments of income, job, and labor market conditions, rose 4.5 points to 74.4

However, the index was still below the threshold of 80, ​​​​​​​the level indicating a recession is expected in the next year.

“Consumer confidence has stabilized since May, rebounding from April’s plunge, but remains below last year’s heady levels,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist at the Conference Board.

Stating that pessimism about the future receded somewhat, leading to a slight improvement in overall confidence, Guichard said all three components of the Expectation Index improved, with consumers feeling less pessimistic about future business conditions and employment, and more optimistic about future income.

Guichard noted that consumers’ write-in responses showed that tariffs remained top of mind and were mostly associated with concerns that they would lead to higher prices.

"In addition, references to high prices and inflation rose in July, even though consumers’ average 12-month inflation expectations eased slightly to 5.8%, down from 5.9% in June and a peak of 7% in April," she noted.

Guichard added that consumers’ outlook on stock prices continued to recover from April’s 16-month low, with 47.9% expecting stock prices to increase over the next 12 months, up from 37.6% three months ago.