The Conference Board’s gauge of confidence increased 0.6 point to 91.2 after a downward revision to the prior month, data released Tuesday showed. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was 94.4.
An indicator of present conditions fell, while a measure of expectations for the next six months advanced. A metric of perceptions about the job market closely monitored by economists fell to the lowest in more than five years.
The report shows that cheaper gas resulting from a truce in the Middle East helped assuage some of the anxiety Americans have expressed about the economy in recent months. However, views of the job market deteriorated and consumers expect little improvement in the coming months.
“Consumer confidence inched up in June as falling oil prices in recent weeks provided some relief to consumer inflation fears,” Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, said in a statement.
In the survey, the share of consumers who said jobs were plentiful increased slightly, and the share saying jobs were hard to get jumped. The difference between these two dropped to the lowest level since early 2021.
A separate measure of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan improved this month — but May and June remain the lowest and second lowest months on record, respectively, in data back to the 1970s. The Michigan survey emphasizes views about personal finances and costs of living, while the Conference Board’s index generally focuses more on labor market and business conditions.
At the same time, consumer spending has been resilient, partly helped by tax refunds, and US hiring has surged.
A separate report Tuesday US job openings were little changed in May, suggesting labor demand remains stable. The June employment report on Thursday is expected to show a fourth month of solid jobs gains.
Inflation expectations in the next year fell slightly in the Conference Board survey. Almost 62% of respondents still expect interest rates during the next 12 months will be higher. An increasing number of policymakers have warned the Federal Reserve may need to raise rates this year to reverse a pickup in inflation.
The survey period for the report was June 1-23.
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