Consumer confidence in June rises more than expected

New York - A report released by Bloomberg on Tuesday said that confidence among American consumers in June surpassed expectations, climbing to the highest level in more than five years.

The Conference Board’s index rose to 81.4, beating Bloomberg forecasts of 75.1 and reaching the highest point since January 2008. The index reached 74.3 in May.

“Unambiguously, the economy is showing signs of improvement despite sizable fiscal drag,” Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, N.Y., told Bloomberg.

The Conference Board’s figures are in line with the recently released Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index, which has been hovering at or around a five-year high reached in late April.

“Consumers are considerably more positive about current business and labor market conditions than they were at the beginning of the year,” Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, said in a statement. “Expectations have also improved considerably over the past several months, suggesting that the pace of growth is unlikely to slow in the short-term, and may even moderately pick up.”