WASHINGTON, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Consumer sentiment improved for the first time in six months, according to the data released Friday by the University of Michigan.

The index of consumer sentiment in June climbed 16 percent from last month but remained about 20 percent below December 2024, when the sentiment exhibited a post-election bump.

The trends were unanimous across the distributions of age, income, wealth, political party, and geographic region, the survey found.

Moreover, all five index components rose, with a particularly steep increase for short and long-run expected business conditions, consistent with a perceived easing of pressures from tariffs.

"Consumers appear to have settled somewhat from the shock of the extremely high tariffs announced in April and the policy volatility seen in the weeks that followed," said Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu.

However, consumers still perceived wide-ranging downside risks to the economy.

Their views of business conditions, personal finances, buying conditions for big ticket items, labor markets, and stock markets all remained well below six months ago in December 2024.

"Despite this month's notable improvement, consumers remain guarded and concerned about the trajectory of the economy," Hsu said.