The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in April, increased moderately in May. The index now stands at 95.4 (1985=100), up from 94.3 in April. The Present Situation Index increased from 105.1 in April to 108.1 in May. The Expectations Index edged down to 86.9 from 87.1 in April.
Consumers’ optimism about the short-term outlook edged down in May. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months inched up from 15.4% to 15.6%, while those expecting business conditions to worsen also increased, from 9.1% to 10.8%.