Pessimism in drought-stricken regions of the country...

Pessimism in drought-stricken regions of the country dragged down the monthly consumer confidence index in July, the Conference Board said. The index registered 113 in July, down from a revised 115.7 in June and a peak of 120.2 in May, the business-supported research group said. The survey of 5,000 households compares consumers’ attitudes to their attitudes in the base year of 1985, when the index’s value for each region was set at 100.