U.S. consumers were a little more optimistic about the economy in September, according to a report released Tuesday. (Tweet this)
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index inched up to 103 in September, beating estimates. Economists polled by Reuters expected a reading of 96.1. August's reading was 101.3.
"Consumer confidence increased moderately in September, following August's sharp rebound," said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board.
"Consumers' expectations for the short-term outlook, however, remained relatively flat, although there was a modest improvement in income expectations. Thus, while consumers view current economic conditions more favorably, they do not foresee growth accelerating in the months ahead."
Consumers who said business conditions are "good" increased 23.7 percent to 28.0 percent, while those claiming business conditions are "bad" declined modestly from 17.8 percent to 16.7 percent.
Consumer optimism about the short-term outlook was mostly flat in September. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months increased from 16.6 percent to 17.9 percent, but those expecting business conditions to worsen also increased, from 9.1 percent to 10.3 percent.
The monthly consumer confidence survey is conducted by Nielsen for The Conference Board.