U.S. consumer confidence index rebounded in May, expectations improved but recession warnings remain

Odaily Planet Daily News: The Conference Board's Consumer Current Situation Index rose to 135.9 in May. The index of consumers' expectations based on their short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions surged 17.4 points to 72.8, but remained below the 80 threshold, which usually indicates an impending recession. Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist for Global Indicators at the Conference Board, said: "Consumer confidence improved in May after five consecutive months of declines. This rebound was already evident before the US-China trade agreement was reached on May 12, and has gained momentum since then. The monthly improvement was mainly driven by consumer expectations, as all three components of the expectations index - business conditions, employment prospects and future income - rebounded from April lows. Consumers became less pessimistic about business conditions and job opportunities over the next six months and regained optimism about future income prospects. Consumers' assessment of the current situation also improved." Guichard added: "As the stock market continued to recover in May, consumers' outlook on stock prices improved, with 44% of consumers expecting stock prices to rise in the next 12 months (up from 37.6% in April) and 37.7% expecting stock prices to fall (down from 47.2% in April)." (Jinshi)