WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. consumer confidence fell for a third straight month in July amid persistent worries about higher inflation and rising interest rates, pointing to slower economic growth at the start of the third quarter.
The Conference Board said on Tuesday its consumer confidence index dropped 2.7 points to a reading of 95.7 this month.
The survey’s present situation index, based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions, fell to 141.3 from 147.2 in June. Its expectations index, based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions, ticked down to 65.3 from 65.8 last month.
“Concerns about inflation, rising gas and food prices, in particular, continued to weigh on consumers,” said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Conference Board in Washington. “Looking ahead, inflation and additional rate hikes are likely to continue posing strong headwinds for consumer spending and economic growth over the next six months.”
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)
