{"id":1517344,"date":"2026-06-12T11:22:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T16:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?guid=fb654ae82a2b673b669bdc26597729cd"},"modified":"2026-06-22T13:23:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T18:23:45","slug":"consumer-sentiment-improves-but-stays-near-all-time-low-survey-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=1517344","title":{"rendered":"Consumer sentiment improves but stays near all-time low, survey shows"},"content":{"rendered":"
Fuel prices are displayed at a gas station on June 09, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

(NEW YORK) -- Consumer sentiment improved in June for the first time since the outbreak of the Iran war<\/a> as gasoline prices eased in recent weeks, but shopper attitudes remained near their worst level on record, University of Michigan<\/a> survey data on Friday showed. The reading exceeded economists' expectations.<\/p>

The survey snapped three consecutive months of dampening consumer sentiment, recovering from an all-time low in May, data showed. The University of Michigan has conducted the survey for the past 80 years.<\/p>

This improvement in sentiment was widespread, seen across age, education and political party, Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said in a statement. Overall assessments and expectations of personal finances and business conditions all rose in June, she noted.<\/p>

The fresh figure comes days after a government report on inflation showed<\/a> the pace of price increases exceeded 4% for the first time in three years.<\/p>

Prices rose 4.2% in May compared to a year earlier, increasing 0.5% from the prior month, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a> data.<\/p>

Consumers expect inflation to move higher over the next year, hitting a pace of 4.8% in June 2027, the University of Michigan survey showed.<\/p>

The Middle East conflict prompted the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, a maritime trading route that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of global oil supply. The standoff triggered one of the largest oil shocks ever recorded, sending gasoline prices higher.<\/p>

Drivers stung by high gas prices have enjoyed some welcome relief over recent weeks, however, even as the impact of the Iran war continues to choke off oil supply.<\/p>

The national average price of a gallon of gas stands at $4.10, marking a decline of 40 cents, or 8.8%, over the past month, AAA<\/a> data showed. Gas prices, however, remain $1.12 higher than where they stood before the Iran war.<\/p>

Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, could weaken if shopper remains lackluster.<\/p>

Spending slowed over the first three months of 2026 compared to the previous three-month period, according to government data issued<\/a> earlier this year. The economy remained solid at the outset of this year, however, as gross domestic product rose 2% on an annualized basis, the report showed.<\/p>

Copyright \u00a9 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fuel prices are displayed at a gas station on June 09, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson\/Getty Images)(NEW YORK) — Consumer sentiment improved in June for the first time since the outbreak of the Iran war as gasoline prices eased in re…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2130,"featured_media":1515193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/wp-content\/media\/2026\/06\/636e80c4d9446876017e1cca62b54eea.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1450],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1517344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abc-business-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-25 07:34:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/wp-content\/media\/2026\/06\/636e80c4d9446876017e1cca62b54eea.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1517344"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1517426,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1517344\/revisions\/1517426"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1515193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1517344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1517344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1517344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}