Consumer Sentiment Ticks Down Slightly in Early Report

The ""University of Michigan's"":http://www.umich.edu/ measure of consumer sentiment saw a ""trivial"" drop in its preliminary July report.

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The Index of Consumer Sentiment, published by UMich and ""Thomson Reuters"":http://thomsonreuters.com/ twice each month (one preliminary reading and one final reading), dropped to 83.9 from June's final value of 84.1. The median forecast among economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 84.7.

Amna Asaf, economist at analytics firm ""Capital Economics"":https://www.capitaleconomics.com/, said the drop ""was probably a reaction to the decline in equity prices in late-June and early-July.""

The expectations index, meanwhile, fell from 77.8 to a three-month low of 73.8.

On the other hand, the Current Conditions Index, bolstered by improving conditions in the labor and housing markets, rose to a nearly six-year high of 99.7 from June's 93.8.

""Overall, based on the historical relationship, the expectations index now suggests that third-quarter consumption growth could be almost as weak as the estimated 1.5 percent to 2.0 percent annualized gain in the second quarter,"" Asaf said.