The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index fell slightly to 93.1 in May 2026 from an upwardly revised 93.8 in April.
Despite the minor dip, the figure released by The Conference Board outperformed Wall Street's expectations, as economists polled by Reuters had forecast a deeper drop to 92.0. In contrast, the separate University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index plunged to a record low of 44.8 in May due to heightened long-term inflation fears.
Key Drivers of May Confidence
- Geopolitical Inflation: Rising grocery and gas prices—with fuel averaging roughly $4.50 a gallon nationwide—fueled by the ongoing Middle East conflict heavily weighed on consumers.
- Shifting Spending Habits: Special questions added to the Yahoo Finance reported Conference Board survey revealed that two-thirds (66.5%) of consumers are actively cutting back on overall purchases and delaying big-ticket acquisitions.
- Labor Market Cooling: The "labor differential" (the gap between those seeing jobs as "plentiful" versus "hard to get") ticked down to 6.9% from April's 7.5%, signaling a slightly tighter jobs market for applicants.
Summary of May Economic Indexes
- Conference Board Consumer Confidence 93.193.8 (Revised up) 92.0 Slipped slightly
- Present Situation Index 121.2 124.4 N/A Declined
- Expectations Index 74.4 73.4 N/A Improved modestly
- U. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment 44.8 49.84 8.2 (Prelim) Hit record low
If you are tracking how this economic shift influences consumer behaviors, let me know if you would like to explore retail spending cuts by category or the Federal Reserve's upcoming inflation data releases.
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