NEW YORK, July 29 (Xinhua) -- U.S. consumer confidence index increased to 97.2 in July, higher than the upwardly revised 95.2 in June, according to the preliminary survey results issued by The Conference Board on Tuesday.
The expectations index, which is based on consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, rose 4.5 points to 74.4, according to The Conference Board.
Still, the consumer expectations index "remained below the threshold of 80 that typically signals a recession ahead for the sixth consecutive month."
Meanwhile, the present situation index, which is based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions, fell 1.5 points to 131.5 in July.
"Consumer confidence has stabilized since May, rebounding from April's plunge, but remains below last year's heady levels," said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist of global indicators at The Conference Board.
U.S. consumers were a tad more positive about current business conditions in July than in June. However, their appraisal of current job availability weakened for the seventh consecutive month, reaching its lowest level since March 2021, said Guichard.
Notably, 18.9 percent of consumers indicated that jobs were hard to secure in July, up from 14.5 percent in January.
Guichard added that consumers' write-in responses continued to highlight concerns about tariffs and inflation. While mentions of high prices increased, 12-month inflation expectations eased slightly to 5.8 percent, down from 5.9 percent in June and a peak of 7 percent in April.
The monthly survey is based on an online sample, and the cutoff date for the preliminary results was July 20. ■