US Economy

Consumer confidence sinks in July

A shopper makes a purchase in Atlanta, Georgia.
David Goldman | AP

U.S. consumers were not optimistic about the economy in July, according to a report released Tuesday. (Tweet this)

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index dipped to 90.9 in July, missing estimates. Economists polled by Reuters expected a reading of 100. June's reading was 99.8.

The reading marked its lowest level since September 2014. The June figure was originally reported at 101.4.

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"Consumer confidence declined sharply in July, following a gain in June. Consumers continue to assess current conditions favorably, but their short-term expectations deteriorated this month. A less optimistic outlook for the labor market, and perhaps the uncertainty and volatility in financial markets prompted by the situation in Greece and China, appears to have shaken consumers' confidence. Overall, the Index remains at levels associated with an expanding economy and a relatively confident consumer," said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board in a release.

Consumers' outlook for the labor market was dim. Those expecting more jobs in the coming months decreased from 17.1 percent to 13.1 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs increased from 15.2 percent to 20.0 percent.

Consumers were not optimistic about the short-term outlook. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months was down to 14.7 percent from 17.9 percent. Those expecting business conditions to worsen increased slightly to 10.7 percent from 10.2 percent.

The monthly consumer confidence survey is conducted by Nielsen for The Conference Board.

--Reuters contributed to this report.