Consumer Confidence Slips Slightly In IBD/TIPP Reading

U.S. consumer confidence slipped slightly during the past month according to a monthly survey of economic optimism. The US July IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index fell two points to a reading of 45.6. Results of the poll missed Wall Street's expected reading of 48. “Consumers are concerned," according to Raghavan Mayur, who heads the survey. "They expect to pay more at the pump because of the recent unrest in the Middle East and a majority think that the economy is not improving." About 22% of households say at least one member is looking for a full-time job. In an especially sharp decline, the poll's measure of how consumers feel about the economy's prospects in the next six months fell nearly 9 percent to 41.6. The measure was 32.1 when the economy entered recession in December 2007. Americans' confidence regarding personal finances in the next six months lost 2.1 points, or 3.7 percent, to 54.7, while confidence in federal economic policies dropped 0.5 percent, to 40.4. The July index is 0.9 points above its 12-month average of 44.7 and 1.2 points above its reading of 44.4 in December 2007, when the economy entered the recession. Further, the measure is 3.7 points below its all-time average of 49.3. The monthly index is based on a survey of about 900 adults chosen at random nationwide. The poll, conducted by TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence in partnership with Investors Business Daily Newspaper, is generally conducted in the first week of the month. Technica says its index has "a good track record" in foreshadowing the better-known consumer confidence surveys put out later each month by the University of Michigan and The Conference Board.