Consumer confidence rises in June

WASHINGTON – U.S. consumers became more confident in June –with more Americans pleased by current conditions but slightly less hopeful about what the next six months hold.

The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose to 118.9 this month from 117.6 in May. The gains suggest that many Americans expect the economy to keep expanding, although the pace of growth is unlikely to accelerate much.

More consumers described current business conditions as “good” and jobs as “plentiful.” But fewer of them expect business conditions to improve over the next six months relative to the survey results in May.

Economists closely monitor the mood of consumers because their spending makes up about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.