Consumer Confidence Rebounds Much More Than Expected

Consumers are back to being optimistic, due to hopes that the U.S.–China trade conflict is simmering down (CNBC).

The numbers: “The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index leaped to 98.0, a 12.3-point increase from April and much better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 86.0.”

Why it happened: Consumer confidence started climbing in May even before President Trump’s May 12 announcement of a trade truce with China, but significantly increased after that, according to the organization.

May’s resurgence follows five months in a row of declining confidence.
Despite the resurgence, on a six-month moving average basis, confidence was still down due to previous monthly declines.

Across the board: The Conference Board’s survey showed an increase of optimism in several areas.

“The present situation index increased to 135.9, up 4.8 points, and the expectations index posted a major surge to 72.8, a 17.4-point gain,” according to CNBC.
“Investors also showed more optimism, with 44% now expecting stocks to be higher over the next 12 months, up 6.4 percentage points from April.”
“Views on the labor market also improved, with 19.2% of respondents expecting more jobs to be available in the next six months, compared with 13.9% in April.”