A leading barometer of US consumer confidence rose for a second month in June.
In a report that could temper building hopes for an aggressive interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve tomorrow, the Conference Board said today that its broad index of consumer attitudes rose to 117.9 in June from an upwardly-revised 116.1 in May.
Consensus forecasts were for a slight dip to 114.2. The index hit a four year low of 109.2 in February.
Fed officials have repeatedly said that keeping consumers spending is key to preventing the current economic slump from deepening.
'Consumers are currently more optimistic than they have been all year regarding business and job prospects over the next six months,' the director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Centre said in a statement.
'There is little reason to believe that consumers will drastically halt their spending habits, and also little reason to expect consumers to go on shopping binges. The economy should continue to expand at its current slow rate,' the Board said.
The Expectations Index, which measures the outlook for the next six months, rose to 93.2 in June, its highest level since December. The expectations gauge was revised up to 87.1 in May. The recent drop-off in consumer confidence, which was the sharpest since the last recession, began late last year.
The Present Situation Index, a gauge of consumer views of the economy right now, fell to 154.8 in June from an upwardly-revised 159.6 in May. The Conference Board is a New York-based private research group.
