Closely watched measure of consumer sentiment plunges, far lower than Wall Street forecasts
July 29, 2003: 10:11 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Consumer confidence in the economy plunged in July, according to a survey released Tuesday, dashing Wall Street expectations for a gain.
The Conference Board, a business research group based in New York, said its closely watched index of consumer confidence fell to 76.6 from 83.5 in June. Economists, on average, expected confidence to rise to 85, according to a Reuters poll.
The Conference Board's "expectations" index, which measures how consumers feel about the future, fell to 86.4 from 96.4 in June. The "present situation" index dropped to 61.9 from 64.2.
"The rising level of unemployment and sentiment that a turnaround in labor market conditions is not around the corner have contributed to deflating consumers' spirits this month," Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center, said. "Expectations are likely to remain weak until the job market becomes more favorable."
U.S. stock prices fell significantly after the report, while Treasury bond prices reversed earlier losses.
The news conflicted with recent reports showing some improvement in the broader economy, which has struggled to recover from a recession in 2001. Particularly hard-hit has been the labor market, which is mired in its longest slump since World War II.
More than 2.5 million jobs have been lost since March 2001, when economists believe a recession began. Though the recession apparently ended in November 2001, labor market weakness has continued.
The Conference Board said that, of the 5,000 households it surveyed, only 16.8 percent expected more jobs to come available in the next six months, compared with 18.9 percent in June.
O Clubeinvest.com informa que nenhuma da informação
aqui facultada deverá ser entendida como conselho ou recomendação
de qualquer tipo de transacção ou investimento.
