Consumer confidence continued to hover near five- to six-year highs in the United States in June, depending on which of the country’s two leading consumer surveys you trust most.



The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index slipped to 84.1 from 84.5 in May, as a slight increase in its consumer expectations index was more than offset by a decline in its current conditions index. Declining confidence in households with less than $75,000 in annual income more than offset a rise in confidence among the rest of U.S. households, where a rise in housing and stock prices likely buoyed confidence, according to Richard Curtin, chief economist for the Thomson Reuters Surveys of Consumers. Still, both income groups anticipated modest gains in the overall economy and declines in the unemployment rate in the months ahead.

 

“Gains in spending during the balance of 2013 can be expected to be more heavily concentrated than usual among upper income households, with the housing market serving as the bellwether industry,” said Curtin, noting that the index remains near a six year high reached in May. “These prospects reflect a new type of economic revival, sparked by increases in wealth rather than by gains in jobs and wages.”
The Conference Board said its index of consumer attitudes rose to 81.4 from a downwardly revised 74.3 the month before. It was the highest since January 2008 and beat expectations for 75.4.

 

 

Consumer assessment of the current economy and job market improved as did their outlook for the economy and jobs over the next six months, although their expectations of increased income dipped from a month earlier. The survey was completed June 13, well ahead of the decline in stock prices that dragged down the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 4.3 percent in the third week of June. The DJIA recovered about half that decline last week and closed Friday just 2.5 percent off the all time high reached at the end of May.

 

“Consumer Confidence increased for the third consecutive month and is now at its highest level since January 2008 (Index 87.3),” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers are considerably more positive about current business and labor market conditions than they were at the beginning of the year. Expectations have also improved considerably over the past several months, suggesting that the pace of growth is unlikely to slow in the short-term, and may even moderately pick up.”