According to Odaily, the consumer confidence index in the United States for May rose to 135.9, driven by a significant increase in the expectations index, which jumped by 17.4 points to 72.8. Despite this improvement, the index remains below the threshold of 80, which often indicates the likelihood of an economic recession. Stephanie Gichard, chief economist at the Conference Board, noted that consumer confidence improved in May after five consecutive months of decline. This recovery began to emerge before the trade agreement between the United States and China was reached on May 12, and since then, momentum has strengthened.
The monthly improvement was primarily driven by consumer expectations, as all three components of the expectations index—business conditions, employment prospects, and future income—recovered from their lows in April. Consumers became less pessimistic about business conditions and job opportunities over the next six months and regained optimism about future income prospects. Additionally, consumers' evaluations of the current situation also improved.
Gichard added that as the stock market continued to rise in May, consumer expectations regarding stock prices improved. About 44% of consumers expect stock prices to rise over the next twelve months, up from 37.6% in April, while 37.7% expect a decline, down from 47.2% in April.