US consumer confidence rebounds after five straight months of declines amid tariff anxiety

By MATT OTT Associated Press Business Writer WASHINGTON AP Americans views of the financial system improved in May after five straight months of declines sent consumer confidence to the lowest level since the onset of the COVID- pandemic largely driven by anxiety over the impact of President Donald Trump s tariffs The Conference Board revealed Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose points in May to up from April s its lowest reading since May A measure of Americans short-term expectations for their income business conditions and the job arena jumped points to but remained below which can signal a recession ahead Related Articles The Supreme Court rejects a plea to block a copper mine on land in Arizona that s sacred to Apaches killed and injured in a Memorial Day shooting at a Philadelphia park more of the escapees from a New Orleans jail are captured leaving on the run authorities say US futures and European markets rise on temporary US-EU transaction truce In contemporary times in History May the Golden Gate Bridge opens The proportion of consumers surveyed saying they think a U S recession is coming in the next months also declined from April Trump s aggressive and unpredictable policies including massive import taxes have clouded the outlook for the business sector as well as the job field and raised fears that the American economic system is headed toward recession However Trump s tariff pullbacks pauses and negotiations with specific trading partners may have calmed nerves for the time being The rebound was already visible before the May US-China bargain deal but gained momentum afterwards announced Stephanie Guichard senior economist at The Conference Board Trump had initially imposed a stunning tariff on the greater part goods from China but agreed to a -day pause for negotiations The U S also came to an agreement with the U K earlier in May Over the Memorial Day holiday weekend Trump and European Union leaders revealed that the president s tariff on imports from the E U which he released Friday are on hold until July That announcement would not have impacted the Board s survey which closed on May The Conference Board revealed the rebound in confidence this month was broad-based across all ages and income groups Consumers assessments of the present economic situation also improved with the exception of their view on job availability which weakened for the fifth straight month despite another strong U S jobs overview The Labor Department earlier this month published that U S employers added a surprising jobs in April and the unemployment rate remained at a low as the job industry indicated resilience amid Trump s agreement wars