Investing.com - U.S. consumer confidence jumped more than expected in June, bolstering optimism over the health of the economy, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Conference Board, a market research group, said its index of consumer confidence rose to 98.0 this month from a reading of 92.4 in May, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 92.6.
Analysts had expected the index to increase to 93.3 in June.
That was its best level since October 2015.
The Present Situation Index increased from 113.2 to 118.3, while the Expectations Index improved from 78.5 to 84.5 in June.
Commenting on the report, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center Lynn Franco said, “Consumers were less negative about current business and labor market conditions, but only moderately more positive, suggesting no deterioration in economic conditions, but no strengthening either.”
Franco indicated that expectations regarding business and labor market conditions, as well as personal income prospects, improved moderately.
“Overall, consumers remain cautiously optimistic about economic growth in the short-term," she concluded.
The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was June 16, before the results of the U.K.’s referendum on membership in the European Union.
Immediately following the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.1061 from around 1.1064 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.3385 from 1.3387 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 102.53 from 102.49 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 96.18, compared to 96.17 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were trading higher after the open. The Dow 30 rose 1.18%, the S&P 500 gained 1.19%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 1.67%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,314.85 a troy ounce, compared to $1,317.45 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $47.62 a barrel from $47.71 earlier.