‘Consumers were somewhat less upbeat than in April, but overall remain optimistic that the economy will continue expanding into the summer months.’ – Lynn Franco, Conference Board
The mood of American shoppers deteriorated for the second consecutive month in May. The Conference Board reported on Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 117.9 points in the reported month, falling behind expectations for 120.1 points. Apart from that , April’s reading was revised down to 119.4 from initially reported 120.3 points. The share of consumers saying business conditions were ‘good’ fell to 29.4% from 30.8% in April, whereas the share of those saying business conditions were ‘bad’ remained unchanged at 13.7% in May. The share of shoppers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months fell to 21.3% from 25.1% in April, whereas the share of those expecting more jobs to be created over the same period of time declined to 18.6% in May from 21.9% in the preceding month. Meanwhile, 29.9% of the respondents stated that there were plentiful jobs, compared to 30.3% in April. Earlier in the day, the Commerce Department reported that consumer spending climbed 0.4% last month, the largest gain since December. Overall, US consumers maintained the positive outlook for the economy.
