U.S. consumer sentiment keeps falling in early July

U.S. consumer sentiment kept falling in early July due to increased concerns about economic prospects mainly voiced by consumers with high income.

The preliminary reading of the consumer sentiment for July decreased to 89.5 from 93.5 in June, said the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment on Friday.

"The early July decline in consumer sentiment was due to increased concerns about prospects for the national economy that were mainly voiced by high-income households," said survey director Richard Curtin.

"Nearly one-in-four households with incomes in the top third mentioned Brexit when asked to identify any recent economic news that they had heard. For these households the initial impact on domestic stock prices translated Brexit into personal wealth losses," said Curtin.

"The overall decline in the Sentiment Index was rather minor, and could be anticipated to recover some of those losses in late July or early August," said Curtin.

The sub-index of current conditions, reflecting Americans' perceptions of their financial situation and whether they consider it a good time to buy big-ticket items like cars, fell to 108.7 from 110.8 last month.

The sub-index gauging consumer expectations for six months from now, which more closely projects the direction of consumer spending, decreased to 77.1 from 82.4 in June. Endi