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Florida consumer confidence drops across-the-board in June

 
Tampa Bay Times
Published July 4, 2018

Floridians have turned more pessimistic, especially about where the national economy is headed this year.

Overall, consumer sentiment statewide fell 1.9 points in June to 98.3 from a revised figure of 100.2 in May, according to the monthly index released Tuesday by the University of Florida.

For the first time in nearly two years, all five components that make up the index declined.

The three components representing the expectations of future economic conditions all worsened. Expectations of national economic conditions over the next year plummeted by 3.8 points; respondents also had more trepidation about their own personal financial situation a year from now (down 1.6 points) and where the U.S. economy will be five years out (down five-tenths of a point).

Looming economic angst "might come as a result of the potential impact that the new tariffs on imports and foreign retaliation might have on the economy in the short run," said Hector H. Sandoval, director of the Economic Analysis Program at UF's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

As for the current state of the economy, there was a drop in how people felt about their own personal finances compared to a year ago (down one point) and whether this was a good time to buy a major household item (down 2.6 points).

Despite the overall drop, there was some variation based on age, sex and income. For women and respondents 60 and older, consumer confidence increased slightly, and for those with income under $50,000, confidence remained unchanged in June.

The index is benchmarked to 1966, which means a value of 100 represents the same level of confidence for that year. The lowest index possible is a 2; the highest is 150.

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