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Economic indicators showed downward movement in the last month, according to the Conference Board and the U.S. Census Bureau. NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray broke it down for us.

Consumer confidence: “Consumer confidence fell to a post-pandemic low, dropping for the third straight month from 98.4 in June to 95.7 in July, according to the Conference Board,” said Moutray.

• “Americans felt less upbeat in their assessments of the current and future economic environment in July, with consumers remaining anxious about inflation and with purchasing intentions for larger items pulling back on such concerns.”

The numbers: “The percentage of respondents suggesting that business conditions were ‘good’ decreased from 19.5% to 17.0%, while the percentage feeling that conditions were ‘bad’ rose from 22.8% to 24.0%,” said Moutray.

• “At the same time, the percentage of respondents suggesting jobs were ‘plentiful’ dipped from 51.5% to 50.1%, while those saying jobs were ‘hard to get’ increased from 11.6% to 12.3%.”

The outlook: “Regarding the outlook, the percentage of consumers anticipating better business conditions over the next six months edged down from 14.6% to 14.0%, while those predicting a worsening of conditions dropped from 29.7% to 27.2%,” said Moutray.

Home sales fall: “After rebounding somewhat in the previous release, new single-family home sales fell sharply once again in the latest data, down 8.1% from 642,000 units at the annual rate to 590,000 units in June, the weakest reading since April 2020,” said Moutray.

• “Higher mortgage rates and affordability have sharply dampened enthusiasm for new home sales year to date, and builders also cite lingering inflation, supply chain disruptions and workforce shortages as significant challenges in the housing market.”
• “Indeed, single-family home sales have fallen 17.4% year-over-year, down from 714,000 units in June 2021.”