US consumer confidence ticks lower

US consumer confidence edged slightly lower in June amid rising concern about current and future business conditions, according to survey data published Tuesday.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 100.4, down from a revised figure of 101.3 last month.

The June index was marginally higher than market expectations, according to Briefing.com, but the decline from May signals ongoing concerns about the health of the world's largest economy heading into the November election.

The board's sub-index measuring current business and labor conditions nonetheless increased in June to 141.5, up from a revised figure of 140.8 in May.

"Consumers expressed mixed feelings this month," Conference Board chief economist Dana Peterson said in a statement.

"Their view of the present situation improved slightly overall, driven by an uptick in sentiment about the current labor market, but their assessment of current business conditions cooled," she added.

Most of the decline between May and June was seen among consumers aged between 35 and 54, while younger and older consumers actually saw confidence improve, she said.

"Consumer Confidence edged modestly lower in June, keeping the index within its narrow recent range," Wells Fargo economists Shannon Seery Grein and Jeremiah Kohl wrote in a note to clients.

"The details continue to demonstrate a hesitant, but not overly concerned, consumer," they added.

Consumer confidence in the United States has struggled to recover from a post-pandemic surge in inflation that prompted the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates to a 23-year high.

Despite inflation falling sharply, it remains stuck above the Fed's long-term two percent target, and the Fed remains on hold on rates -- pushing up the cost of borrowing for consumers and businesses.

Lackluster consumer confidence also remains a headache for President Joe Biden, who is talking up his economic record in office as he prepares to face off against Donald Trump in the November 5 election.

Looking forward, consumers were "a bit less pessimistic about future labor market conditions," for the second consecutive month, Peterson said Tuesday.

"However, their expectations for both future income and business conditions weakened," she added.

Source: AFP, Washington