US Consumer Confidence Rises, But Experts See Storm Ahead

US consumer confidence rose in May, the third straight month for plus results according to the Conference Board’s monthly survey, says Tire Review. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rose to 63.3 in May, well up from April’s 57.7 mark. And consumer outlook for the next six months also rose, reaching 85.3 up from last month’s 77.4 result, the highest outlook result since August 2007.

Still, consumers in the survey related lingering concern about the economy, and economists said the impact of Wall Street’s recent trumbles and the debt crisis in Europe was not registered by this most recent confidence study. Economists still think consumer confidence will remain relatively weak for the next 12 months due to high unemployment and uncertainty surrounding Wall Street and Europe. As for the impacts of those issues, Gallup’s chief economist Dennis Jacobe said, “We were starting to see some good signs that we were building momentum. This has put a wrench into the works. The momentum has come to a halt.”