U.S. Consumer Confidence Rises

May 29, 11:01 AM

Current Headlines: U.S. consumer confidence rose in May from upwardly revised figures the month before, a private research group said Tuesday.

The confidence index rose to 108 from April's 106.3 and 108.2 in March, the Conference Board said.

Many Wall Street economists had expected the May reading to be 105. The board originally reported April's reading as 104.

The bounce-back in confidence was due primarily to a more upbeat assessment of present-day business conditions, board Consumer Research Center Director Lynn Franco said.

The present-situation index rose to 136.1 from an upwardly revised 133.5 in April, the board said. May's reading was the third strongest in the past year.

Consumer expectations about the economy over the next six months edged up to 89.2 from April's upwardly revised 88.2.

The near-term outlook remains cautious, and rising gasoline prices are having a negative impact on consumers' inflation expectations, Franco said.

The Conference Board results are based on a mail-in survey of 5,000 households. The cutoff date for responses was May 21.