Dive Brief:

• Consumer confidence in the U.S. last week remained at its lowest level since mid-June, showing little movement in attitudes about the economy, personal finances and the buying climate, according to the weekly Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index released Thursday.

• The Bloomberg study’s “comfort measure” held steady at 42.9 for the week ended July 24, while respondents’ view on the economy fell slightly to 32.7 from 32.8. The personal finances index edged up to 57.7 from 57.6, and the overall view of the buying climate fell slightly to 38.2 from 38.3, Bloomberg reports.

• While Bloomberg characterized its survey as reflecting a “holding pattern” in most measures, it noted a rise in sentiment among lower-income households: Confidence among consumers earning less than $15,000 a year rose to a nine-year high of 34.4 and the “comfort measure” increased in the two groups with an annual income of less than $25,000, while decreasing in demographics with higher incomes.

Dive Insight:

These Bloomberg Index scores jibe with findings from nonprofit business and research group the Conference Board, which also found consumer confidence relatively unchanged in July following an increase in June, and the University of Michigan Survey of Consumers, which identified diminishing confidence among higher-income U.S. households following the U.K.'s so-called "Brexit" vote last month to leave the European Union.

Despite Brexit and the ongoing U.S. presidential election, American consumer confidence is holding steady this summer, and in a positive sign for many retailers, lower-income consumers may finally be feeling some of the benefits of reduced unemployment and higher wages.

“The continued strength of consumer confidence supports our view that an acceleration in hourly wage growth, along with further gains in housing and equity prices, will ensure that spending continues to grow at a solid 2% to 2.5% annualized pace over the rest of this year,” Andrew Hunter, assistant economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients this week after the Conference Board report this week, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

The report suggests that “consumption growth will continue at a decent pace in the third quarter,” Hunter added.