US consumer confidence partially rebounds in May

WASHINGTON, May 27 (KUNA) -- "The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased by 12.3 points in May to 98.0, up from 85.7 in April," a consumer survey conducted by the US based board said on Tuesday.
"The Present Situation Index, based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions, rose 4.8 points to 135.9.
The Expectations Index, based on consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, surged 17.4 points to 72.8, but remained below the threshold of 80, which typically signals a recession ahead," the survey said.
About half of the responses were collected after the May 12 announcement of a pause on some tariffs on imports from China, said the Board.
"Consumer confidence improved in May after five consecutive months of decline," said Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board.
"The rebound was already visible before the May 12 US-China trade deal but gained momentum afterwards.
The monthly improvement was largely driven by consumer expectations as all three components of the Expectations Index-business conditions, employment prospects, and future income, rose from their April lows. Consumers were less pessimistic about business conditions and job availability over the next six months and regained optimism about future income prospects.
Consumers' assessments of the present situation also improved. However, while consumers were more positive about current business conditions than last month, their appraisal of current job availability weakened for the fifth consecutive month," Guichard added.
May's rebound in confidence was broad-based across all age groups and all income groups.
It was also shared across all political affiliations, with the strongest improvements among Republicans, the Board added. (end) rsr.mb