U.S. consumer confidence rose slightly in July amid cautious optimism about job prospects, but overall confidence in months ahead is expected to stay below levels reached earlier this year, a private research group said Tuesday. The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to a better-than-expected reading of 106.5 in July from 105.4 in June. Analysts had expected the index to fall slightly. The business-research group's present situation index, which measures how consumers feel about current conditions, rose to 133.0 in July from 132.2 the previous month. The expectations index, which measures confidence in the coming months, improved to 88.8 from 87.5 in June. “Consumer confidence continues to hold steady, with the [outlook] little changed from last month,” Conference Board consumer-research director Lynn Franco said. “Present-day conditions remain favorable, though not as strong as earlier this year. Expectations for the month ahead remain cautious and also below levels earlier this year.” According to the report, labor market conditions were little changed in July. Consumers who said jobs were “plentiful” increased slightly, while those who said jobs were “hard to get” remained unchanged. Economists closely watch consumer confidence indexes for clues on consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of total U.S. economic activity.
