12:24 PM EDT, 05/27/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Consumer confidence rebounded by more than Wall Street's expectations in May as easing trade tensions between the US and China helped lift sentiment, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.

The consumer confidence index increased by 12.3 points to 98 this month, registering gains across all age and income groups, according to the Conference Board. The consensus in a Bloomberg survey was for a gain to 87.1.

"Consumer confidence improved in May after five consecutive months of decline," Stephanie Guichard, senior economist of global indicators at the Conference Board, said. "The rebound was already visible before the May 12 US-China trade deal but gained momentum afterwards."

Earlier in the month, Washington and Beijing agreed to suspend most levies on each other's goods for 90 days, while the Trump administration reached a trade deal with the UK. US President Donald Trump in April declared a 90-day pause on certain tariffs for countries that didn't retaliate to his reciprocal duties.

The Conference Board noted that about half of the survey responses were received before the May 12 pact with China.

Over the weekend, Trump agreed to extend the 50% tariff deadline for the European Union to July 9 from June 1, following a request by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The expectations component climbed 17.4 points to 72.8, but remained below the 80 threshold that usually signals an upcoming recession. The present situation measure rose 4.8 points to 135.9 in May.

"Consumers were less pessimistic about business conditions and job availability over the next six months and regained optimism about future income prospects," according to Guichard. "However, while consumers were more positive about current business conditions than last month, their appraisal of current job availability weakened for the fifth consecutive month."

Average 12-month inflation expectations eased to 6.5% in May after reaching 7% the month prior.