US consumer confidence edged higher in June as falling oil prices amid an extended US-Iran ceasefire eased inflation fears, the Conference Board said Tuesday.
The consumer confidence index climbed to 91.2 this month from May's downwardly revised reading of 90.6. The consensus was for a 94.4 print in a Bloomberg survey.
"Consumer confidence inched up in June as falling oil prices in recent weeks provided some relief to consumer inflation fears," Conference Board Chief Economist Dana Peterson said.
On Friday, a University of Michigan survey showed that consumer sentiment increased in June amid moderating gasoline prices as inflation expectations fell.
Global oil prices were headed toward a 19% decline for the month of June following a memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran to end their conflict. But the diplomatic path forward remains uncertain as both nations exchanged fresh strikes over the weekend.
"Consumers' write-in responses on factors affecting the economy continued to skew towards pessimism in June," the Conference Board's report said. "References to prices and oil and gas eased in frequency but remain elevated. Mentions of war, geopolitics, and conflict eased, reflecting some easing of consumer concerns about the inflationary impacts of the war in the Middle East."
Consumers' one-year inflation expectations were "less elevated" this month, according to the survey.
The present situation measure dropped three points sequentially to 116.4, while the expectations component increased by three points to 74.4, the Conference Board said.
Consumer appraisals of current business conditions were "slightly" more positive than in May, though the percentage of people saying jobs were "hard to get" rose to the highest level since January 2021, Peterson said.
