Consumer confidence is back on the decline this month following a sharp rise in May that suggested that Canadians were becoming more optimistic about the state of the economy.

According to the latest Consumer Confidence Index from research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), which uses a base score of 100, with scores below signalling that consumers feel less confident than usual and scores above suggesting they feel more confident, consumer confidence dropped to 96.2 from 97.7 in May.

The Present Situation Index, which measures how Canadians feel about the economy right now, saw the biggest dip, sliding to 95.2 from 98.4.

“In May, good news about the US economy, combined with some positive job numbers on our side of the border gave consumers almost reason to celebrate. However, in June, Canadians have come back to earth somewhat, adjusting their optimism slightly,” said Norman Baillie-David, SVP, TNS Canada, in a statement.

“But it’s important to note that the trend in confidence for the year is still pointing upward, albeit slowly,” he added.

The Expectations Index, which measures consumers’ outlooks for the economy six months from now, also dropped, falling to 100.1 from 102.8.

Despite this, the Buy Index, which measures how willing consumers are to invest in big ticket items, rose 2.1 points to 93.7 from 91.6 in June.

“We typically see good months for the buy index in the spring and early summer, which coincides with home-buying, renovating and moving,” said Baillie-David.

The Consumer Confidence Index was conducted using a sample of 1,015 Canadians collected between June 3 and 6 using TNS’s bi-weekly telephone omnibus service. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.