By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Consumer confidence rose in July on improved expectations, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.
The nonprofit organization said its consumer-confidence index increased to 59.5 in July from a downwardly revised 57.6 in June.
“Overall, consumers remain apprehensive about the future, but some of the concern expressed last month has abated,” said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s consumer research center, in a statement.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected the July reading to decline to 55.3 on concerns about the debt ceiling. Generally when the economy is growing at a good clip, confidence readings are at 90 and above.
The expectations barometer rose to 75.4 in July from 71.6 in June, while the present-situation gauge fell to 35.7 from 36.6.
A report released earlier this month by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan showed that a gauge of consumer sentiment plunged in July as views on the current economy and expectations worsened. The Conference Board’s gauge is more sensitive to the labor market, while the Michigan reading is more sensitive to financial markets.
