Consumer Confidence Slips Slightly but Remains Positive

Ann Arbor, MI, August 3, 2015—Consumer confidence slipped to 93.1 in July, down 3.1% from June’s 96.1 reading, according to the final results for the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers.  

However, this is 13.8% up from the July 2014 figure.

According to the Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin, “Consumer confidence slipped a bit in the July 2015 survey. A disappointing pace of economic growth was the main reason for the small decline in consumer confidence. Nonetheless, the data provide no indication of a break in the prevailing positive trend. Indeed, the Sentiment Index has averaged 94.5 since December 2014, the highest eight month average since 2004. Although one-in-ten consumers, when asked to identify any recent economic developments they had heard, referred negatively to Greece, the Chinese economy, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership on trade, it had virtually no impact on the Sentiment Index. The maintenance of confidence at high levels during the past eight months has been mainly due to modestly positive news on jobs and wages.”