Updated on
Summary US consumers grew more pessimistic about the economy for the fourth consecutive month in June.
This was stated in a closely watched private survey on Tuesday.The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 62.0 in June, its weakest level since January.The research firm revised the May reading a half-point lower to 64.4 on the 100-point index.Consumers were somewhat more positive about current conditions, but slightly more pessimistic about the short-term outlook, said Lynn Franco, the Conference Boards director of economic indicators.Franco noted that income expectations, which had improved last month, declined in June.A slowdown in consumer spending, which drives about 70 percent of the nations economic activity, would deal another blow to the already weak economy.The Conference Board said its sub-index on consumers outlook of the present situation improved slightly in June, to 46.6, from 44.9 in May.But consumers outlook for the next six months was much gloomier; the expectations sub-index went down to 72.3 from 77.3. The number of consumers expecting business conditions will worsen jumped to 16.2 percent from 12.9 percent in May.Barclays analyst Cooper Howes pointed out that expectations were now at their lowest level since a print of 66.4 in November 2011 and only barely above the June 2011 level of 71.6.
