U.S. consumer confidence holds steady in May (by Greg Robb)

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- U.S. consumer confidence held steady in May, the Conference Board said Tuesday. The consumer confidence index inched up to 93.2 in May from a revised 93.0 in April. The slight increase was in line with expectations. Economists expected the index to rise to 93.3. The April confidence index was revised up from the initial estimate of 92.9. The present situation index fell slightly to 90.3 from 90.4, while the expectations index edged up to 95.2 from 94.8. Lynn Franco, the director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center said the pickup in the job market is offsetting the impact of rising gas prices and escalating tensions in Iraq.