Consumer confidence holds steady in July

Consumer confidence held steady in July despite increased market volatility after the United Kingdom’s Brexit vote to leave the European Union.

A closely watched index of Americans' perceptions of the economy and labor market dipped marginally to a still-solid 97.3 from a downwardly revised 97.4 last month, the Conference Board said Tuesday. Consumers' view of present conditions improved while their short-term outlook worsened slightly.

Economists expected a decline to 95.5, according to a Bloomberg survey. The measure had bounced back sharply in June after two straight drops.

The board’s July reading marks the first since the UK referendum, which raised questions about trade ties on the continent and rattled global markets. But U.S. stocks quickly bounced back after an initial selloff and reached a record high last week. And the Labor Department reported early this month that job growth was booming in June, with 287,000 payroll additions, after two weak months.

More broadly, consumers are benefiting from low, if rising, gasoline prices, reduced household debt and solid job growth. Consumer confidence can be an indicator of spending, which makes up the majority of economic activity and was surprisingly strong in the second quarter.

In July, Americans’ appraisal of conditions today improved slightly, with the share saying business conditions are “good” rising to 28.1% from 26.8%. The portion saying conditions are “bad” also increased, but more modestly. About 23% say jobs are plentiful while 22.3% say their “hard to get,” little changed from the previous month.

There short-term outlook was a bit less optimistic. The portion expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months fell to 15.9% from 16.6%; the share expecting conditions to worsen rose to 12.3% from 11.2%.