WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. consumer confidence improved in May after deteriorating for five straight months amid a truce in the trade war between Washington and China, though households continued to worry about tariffs raising prices and hurting the economy.

The Conference Board said on Tuesday its consumer confidence index increased 12.3 points to 98.0 this month. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index inching up to 87.0.

About half of the responses were collected after May 12, after the White House announced a deal to slash duties on Chinese imports to 30% from 145% for 90 days.

"The rebound was already visible before the May 12 US-China trade deal but gained momentum afterwards," said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist, global indicators at the Conference Board. "Write-in responses on what topics are affecting views of the economy revealed that tariffs are still on top of consumers' minds."