Investing.com - A key gauge of U.S. consumer confidence was revised lower in June, according to a survey released on Friday.
The University of Michigan's consumer confidence index was revised down to 98.2 from 99.3.
Economists had forecast a reading of 99.2.
A sub index tracking consumer expectations fell from 87.4 to 86.3.
A separate gauge tracking current conditions decreased from 117.9 to 116.5.
Meanwhile, inflation expectations for the next 12 months increased to 3.0% from 2.9%, while the five-year gauge held steady at the previous 2.6%.
The survey center’s chief economist Richard Curtin noted that consumer sentiment retreated in late June to just above the May reading “largely due to concerns about the potential impact of tariffs on the domestic economy.”
For the year ahead, consumers still anticipated that the economy would produce small additional declines in the unemployment rate as well as higher wage gains, Curtin said.
“Consumers also anticipated an uptick in inflation during the year ahead, partly due to rising energy prices and partly due to tariffs,” he added.
This economist noted that it was likely that higher tariffs would likely take some time for consumers to digest as they needed to gains experience with the actual change in product prices and employment.
“While tariffs may have a direct impact on only a very small portion of overall GDP, the negative impact could quickly generalize and produce a widespread decline in consumer confidence,” Curtin concluded.