Consumer Confidence Slips in May

Mark Vitner Wells Fargo

Consumer confidence slipped for the second straight month, falling 2.1 points to 92.6 in May. The softer read on consumer confidence comes on the same day as a stronger reading on April consumer spending.

Confidence Slips but Spending Stays Strong

Consumers expressed more concern about current business conditions. Rising gasoline prices may have been a factor.
The present condition series fell 4.2 points to 112.9, which is the lowest reading since November. The drop was led by a 3.4-point jump in the proportion of consumers stating that business conditions were bad and 1.6-point rise in the proportion of households stating that jobs were hard to get.

Concerns Do Not Appear To Be Impacting Spending

Expectations fell less dramatically, slipping 0.7 points to a level of 79.0. Views on business conditions and employment were mixed, with both the proportion reporting improving and worsening prospects rising in May.
Buying plans were the clear bright spot in this report, with plans to purchase an automobile rising 0.8 percentage points and plans to buy a home rising 0.7 percentage points.

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Author

Mark Vitner

Wells Fargo

Mark Vitner is a managing director and senior economist at Wells Fargo, responsible for tracking U.S. and regional economic trends.

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