US consumer confidence unexpectedly falls in August

US consumer confidence unexpectedly edged down in August as growing pessimism about the economic outlook outweighed improved assessments of conditions, The Conference Board said Tuesday.

The Consumer Confidence Index fell 0.8 points to 89.4 in August from 90.2 in July, missing expectations of 90.3.

The Present Situation Index, which measures consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions, rose 6.8 points to 121.2 after three consecutive monthly declines.

The Expectations Index, however, reflecting the short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions, dropped 5.8 points to 68.2.

"Consumer confidence moderated slightly in August for a second consecutive month," said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board.

Peterson noted that consumers became more pessimistic about business conditions and the labor market about the next six months, while expectations for household incomes weakened but remained positive overall.

All three components of the Expectations Index deteriorated during the month.

Net expectations for business conditions fell 2.5 percentage points to minus 6.3%, while those for the labor market declined 2.6 points to minus 11.5%. Net household income expectations decreased 3.1 points but remained positive at 3.8%.

Consumers' assessment of the current labor market improved, with 27% saying jobs were plentiful, up from 24.4% in July. The share saying jobs were hard to get fell to 19.5% from 21.7%.

Looking ahead, 14.6% expected more jobs to become available, down from 16.4%, while 26.1% anticipated fewer jobs, up from 25.3%.

Consumers' average and median inflation expectations for the next 12 months rose slightly in August.

About 61.3% expected interest rates to increase in the coming year, down from 62% in July, while consumers continued to anticipate higher stock prices.