Consumer Confidence Drops in July to Two-Year Low

Consumer confidence fell to a two-year low this month, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index released Friday.

The month’s preliminary index fell to a reading of 63.8, from 71.5 in June. The July reading was the lowest since March 2009.

The reading came in below economists’ median forecast of a rise to a 72.2 reading, Bloomberg reported.

The index averaged a reading of 89 in the five years leading up to the recession at the end of 2007.

The index will be revised at the end of the month.