A line of unsold 2024 F150 pickup trucks sit at a Ford dealership Sunday, May 19, 2024, in Denver. The Conference Board reports on U.S. consumer confidence for May on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. WASHINGTON — Consumer confidence in the U.S. rose in May after three straight months of declines, though Americans are still anxious about inflation and interest rates.
The index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months. Consumer expectations of a recession in the next year rose again in May but are still well below their peak in May of 2023. More than two-thirds of respondents to the survey said they believe a recession is “somewhat” or “very” likely in the next 12 months. That’s in contrast to the Conference Board’s survey of CEOs, only about a third of whom foresee a recession in the next 12 to 18 months.
Consumers who said they plan to purchase a home remained at its lowest level since August 2012. Sales of existing homesMost economic indicators show the U.S. economy in good shape by historical standards, though there have been some signs that it is cooling off.in the face of high interest rates, down from a brisk 3.4% growth rate in the final three months of 2023.from March’s 0.