Dados EUA: Consumer confidence rises

[notiCIas]

Index of consumer sentiment edges up in June but consumers are still concerned about the near-term outlook.
June 27 2006: 10:22 AM EDT


NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Consumer confidence increased modestly in June but uncertainty about the near future suggested the economy may be poised to slow in the months ahead, a survey showed Tuesday.

The Conference Board said its index of consumer sentiment rose to 105.7 from an upwardly revised May reading of 104.7. The median forecast of economists polled by Reuters had called for the index to edge up to 103.5 from May's original reading of 103.2.


The business research group's present situation index, however, slipped to 132.7 from an upwardly revised 134.1 in May, while the expectations index inched up to 87.6 in June from an upwardly revised 85.1.

"The slight bounce-back in confidence this month was a result of the moderate improvement in consumers' expectations," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center.

But she said consumers still remain concerned about the near-term outlook. Those saying jobs were "plentiful" decreased to 28.1 percent from an upwardly revised 29.1 percent in May, while those who said jobs were "hard to get" slipped to 19.9 percent from a revised 20.2 percent.

The report found a bit more optimism among consumers about the labor market over the next six months. Those expecting more jobs to become available increased to 15.6 percent from 14.8 percent in May, while those expecting fewer jobs slipped to 17.0 percent from 18.0 percent.

Consumer expectations for inflation in the next 12 months slipped to 5.1 from 5.6 in May, The Conference Board said.

Sentiment indexes have traditionally been seen as a gauge of U.S. consumer spending, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of overall economic activity.

The Conference Board's index, though, generally takes a longer and broader view than the University of Michigan's semi-monthly report on consumer sentiment, another closely-watched gauge of consumer attitudes.

As a result, short-term issues such as gasoline prices tend to influence the reading less than indicators such as the health of the U.S. labor and housing markets.