Consumer Confidence Index gains 3.2 points in July

Casual Living Staff -- Casual Living, 8/3/2012 9:18:00 AM

NEW YORK - Although consumer confidence improved slightly in July, the widely watched Consumer Confidence Index remained at historically low levels.
The Conference Board said the index stood at 65.9 in July (1985=100), up from 62.7 in June.
"Consumers attitudes regarding current conditions were little changed in July, but their short-term expectations, which had declined last month, bounced back," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board.
"However, while consumers expressed greater optimism about short-term business and employment prospects, they have become more pessimistic about their earnings," Franco added. "Consumer confidence is not likely to gain any significant momentum in the coming months."
According to the group's latest survey, the percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months increased to 18.9% from 16%, while those anticipating conditions to worsen decreased to 14.6% from 15.8%.
Those expecting more jobs in the months ahead increased to 17.6% from 14.8%, while those expecting fewer jobs slipped to 20.3% from 20.8%.
The survey was conducted for the conference board by Nielsen, a global research and analytics firm.