Highlights
The consumer sector appears to have crumbled in June, according to this morning's chain-store reports and most prominently by the Conference Board's consumer confidence index which fell 5-1/2 points to 49.3. This index, along with other consumer readings, had been showing big improvement as consumers grew increasingly less pessimistic on current conditions and especially on the outlook. But the expectations component fell back in June, down 6 points to 65.5. The assessment of the present situation, in another setback, fell nearly 5 points to 24.8.

High unemployment and high gas prices are two central reasons for the pessimism. Those saying jobs are plentiful fell 1.3 percentage points to a microscopic 4.5 percent. Those saying jobs are hard to get rose nearly 1 percentage point to 44.8 percent. These readings are not promising for Thursday's employment report. Inflation expectations jumped 3 tenths in the month to 5.9 percent fed by a roughly 5 percent rise in pump prices during the month. There's no indication that concern over monetary inflation is at play in inflation expectations.

This report points to another jump higher in the unemployment rate which in May stood at 9.4 percent. June was a damp month for the weather and from early indications looks to have been a poor month for green shoots.

Market Consensus Before Announcement
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index jumped sharply for the second straight month May, rising to 54.9 from 40.8 in April. Once again, the gain was lead by the expectations index component, which at 72.3 had risen more than 20 points for a second straight month. But the assessment of current conditions showed only the slightest improvement.

2009 Release Schedule

Released On: 1/27 2/24 3/31 4/28 5/26 6/30 7/28 8/25 9/29 10/27 11/24 12/29 Released For: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec