ANN ARBOR, Mich.–Consumer confidence slid a bit in July from June. The University of Michigan reported its final index of sentiment declined to 90 in July from 93.5 in June.
According to the University of Michigan, a record share of households with incomes in the top third mentioned the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union was weighing on outlooks.
“While concerns about Brexit are likely to quickly recede, weaker prospects for the economy are likely to remain,” Richard Curtin, the Michigan survey’s director, said in a statement.
The Commerce Department, meanwhile, reported last week that the U.S. economy expanded in the second quarter at a 1.2% rate, less than projected, after a 0.8% advance in the first three months of the year that was weaker than previously estimated.
The University of Michigan survey showed that year-ahead prospects for the economy dropped to the lowest level in two years. Consumers’ main concern was that slower growth would translate into rising unemployment.
The sentiment survey’s current conditions index, which measures Americans’ assessment of their personal finances, fell in July to 109 from 110.8 last month. The measure of expectations six months from now decreased to 77.8 from 82.4.
Americans anticipated an inflation rate of 2.7% in the next year, up from 2.6% in June. They expect prices to rise 2.6% over the next five to 10 years, the same as in the previous month.
There was some good news. Personal consumption climbed at a 4.2% annualized rate in the three months ended in June following a 1.6% pace in the first quarter, the Commerce Department’s GDP figures showed.