Sales at specialty jewelry stores in the US jumped 4.7% to $3.06 billion in May, according to provisional data recently published by the US Census Bureau.
Sales grew 1.9% to $12.4 billion in the first five months versus the same period a year ago, the data showed.
The increase came as the Consumer Confidence Index, a measure of the health of the US consumer economy, decreased 1.3% in May but rose 1.1% in June, according to the Conference Board.
“Expectations for the short term have eased somewhat, but are still upbeat,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, in a statement in late June.
“Overall, consumers anticipate the economy will continue expanding in the months ahead, but they do not foresee the pace of growth accelerating,” Franco added.
