The Conference Board issued the May Consumer Confidence Index on May 27th. Understandably the Index declined sharply in April attributed to the economic downturn following COVID-19 restrictions. For May, the Consumer Confidence Index was calculated to be 86.6 up from 85.7 for the previous month. The Present Situation Index, a component of the broader index reflects current business sentiment and the labor market. The Present Index declined from an April value of 73.0 to 71.1 in May. In contrast the Expectations Index rose from 94.3 in April to 96.9 for the past month.
Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at the Conference Board stated, "following two months of rapid decline, the free-fall in confidence stopped in May". She added "the severe and widespread impact of COVID-19 is being mostly reflected in the Present Situation Index which has plummeted nearly 100 points since the onset of the pandemic". She concluded "while the decline in confidence appears to have stopped for the moment, the uneven path to recovery and potential second wave are likely to keep a cloud of uncertainty hanging over consumers' heads".