WASHINGTON– Consumer confidence continued to deteriorate in July in the United States, as the approaching elections revived concerns about the medium-term economic outlook, particularly the level of inflation.
The index fell 3.2 percent from June to 66 points, according to a preliminary University of Michigan survey released Friday.
The drop is greater than analysts had forecast, who predicted an index of 67.5 points, according to the consensus published by briefing.com.
The presidential election, which is expected to pit outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden, if he becomes the presidential candidate, against his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, will be held on November 5.
In a note, HFE chief economist Rubeela Farooqi estimated that “consumer attitudes are deteriorating due to high inflation exhaustion and rising unemployment.”
After a rebound this winter, inflation has moderated again – according to the government – in the last three months, reaching 3.0% year-on-year in June, compared with 3.4% in May, and prices even fell slightly in one month, for the first time since 2020, according to the CPI index, to which pensions are indexed.
However, the Federal Reserve (Fed, central bank) has remained cautious, despite the “optimism” of some of its officials that the objective of bringing inflation to 2% will be met.
Source: With information from AFP.