July Sees Consumer Confidence Surge as Inflation Anxiety Cools

Main Street breathes easier as inflation fears retreat—just in time for the Fed to take credit.

Bullish sentiment climbs while traditional markets yawn. Sound familiar?

Retail investors pivot toward risk assets—because nothing builds confidence like watching your fiat paycheck evaporate.

Wall Street analysts scramble to adjust models, muttering about 'transitory' trends through clenched teeth.

The takeaway? When the money printer slows, the people remember how to spend. Until the next CPI report drops, anyway.

Key Takeaways

• Consumer confidence, as measured by the Conference Board, rose in July.
• The reading comes after the index declined in June as worries over the labor market persisted.
• Consumer surveys have improved recently after falling in the wake of President Donald Trump’s tariffs announcement in April. 

Consumer confidence improved more than expected in July as inflation worries receded slightly. 

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index came in at 97.2, an improvement of two points over June’s revised reading.

The report showed that consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and market conditions ROSE by 4.5 points, while their outlook for current business conditions declined slightly. Consumers’ expectations for inflation over the year ahead dipped slightly to 5.8%, down from the peak of 7% in April. 

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal projected that the index WOULD rise to 95.4.

“Consumer confidence has stabilized since May, rebounding from April’s plunge, but remains below last year’s heady levels,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist for global indicators at The Conference Board. “They 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.”

Consumer surveys declined in the months following Trump’s early tariff announcements, but those worries have subsided as the president has announced a string of deals with trading partners.