U.S. Consumer Confidence Improves Much More Than Expected In June

(RTTNews) - After reporting a modest improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in the previous month, the Conference Board released a report on Tuesday showing that its consumer confidence index increased by much more than expected in June.

The report said the consumer confidence index jumped to 101.4 in June from a downwardly revised 94.6 in May. Economists had expected the index to rise to 97.4 from the 95.4 originally reported for the previous month.

Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at the Conference Board, said, "Overall, consumers are in considerably better spirits and their renewed optimism could lead to a greater willingness to spend in the near-term."

The Conference Board said its expectations index surged up to 94.6 in June from 86.2 in May, suggesting consumers are more optimistic about the near-term future.

Consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months rose to 18.5 percent from 16.0 percent, while those expecting conditions to worsen fell to 9.8 percent from 11.3 percent.

The report said the outlook for the labor market was also more upbeat, as consumers anticipating more jobs in the months ahead increased to 17.8 percent from 14.7 percent and those anticipating fewer jobs dipped to 15.1 percent from 16.6 percent.

Additionally, the Conference Board said the present situation index climbed to 111.6 in June from 107.1 in May, indicating increased confidence in the current state of business and employment conditions.

The percentage of consumers saying business conditions are "good" rose to 26.4 percent from 24.7 percent, while the percentage saying conditions are "bad" was virtually unchanged at 17.8 percent.

Consumers were also more positive about the job market, with those saying jobs are "plentiful" edging up to 21.4 percent from 20.6 percent, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" fell to 25.7 percent from 27.2 percent.

Last Friday, the University of Michigan released a separate report showing that consumer sentiment improved by even more than previously estimated in the month of June.

The report said the consumer sentiment index for June was upwardly revised to 96.1 from the mid-month reading of 94.6.

Economists had expected the index to be unrevised from the preliminary reading, which was already up sharply from the final May reading of 90.7.