The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell in July to a reading of 46.6 (1985=100) from 49.3 in June.

Consumers saying business conditions are "bad" increased to 46.3% from 45.3% in the prior month. Those saying jobs are "hard to get" increased to 48.1% from 44.8%.

The index is based on a survey of 5,000 U.S. households.