SOUTHFIELD, Michigan (Bloomberg) - Ford Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. reported June US sales that were better than estimates, as analysts predicted a stabilising US economy may have led the auto industry to its strongest month this year.

General Motors Corp. (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. and Chrysler Group LLC each reported that sales fell more than analysts expected. Ford predicted that the industry annual rate for June was still the highest so far in 2009, while GM said the pace probably was no more than 9.9 million as a new US programme to spur trade-ins of older vehicles kept some buyers on the sidelines.

The US sales slide may have slowed last month, with an annual rate of 10 million cars and light trucks or more for the first time this year as consumers gain confidence and shrug off bankruptcies at GM and Chrysler. A June decline would be the 20th straight monthly drop.

"Sales still haven't recovered in terms of sheer volume numbers, but things are stabilising," Al Castignetti, US vice-president for Nissan, said in a telephone interview. "I'm not sure if the economy is getting better or worse, but it appears to me that consumer confidence is getting better, and that drives sales."

Deliveries at Ford slid 11 percent from a year earlier, according to a statement today from the Dearborn, Michigan-based company. Nissan posted a 23 percent decline.

Toyota said its sales fell 32 percent, while GM said its drop was 34 percent. Chrysler reported a 42 percent drop after it ended most sales to fleet customers.

Ford's decline was 14 percent adjusted for one more sales day than in June 2008, compared with the average estimate of 17 percent from five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Tokyo-based Nissan's adjusted decline was 26 percent, after three analysts estimated an average of 28 percent.

Toyota's adjusted decline was 35 percent, higher than the 32 percent average of three analysts. At Detroit-based GM, which filed for bankruptcy June 1, adjusted sales tumbled 36 percent, compared to a 30 percent average estimate.

Sales last month appear to have benefited "from some recovery in consumer confidence but also from the large discounts offered by Chrysler and terminated GM brands in order to liquidate inventories," Brian Johnson, a Barclays Capital analyst in Chicago, wrote in a June 29 report.

The industry may get a further boost in the second half from the new government program to offer as much as $4,500 in credits for new-vehicle buyers who turn in older, less fuel-efficient models to be scrapped, Mr. Johnson said. He estimated a June sales rate of 10.1 million.

A slowing of the rise in unemployment also may aid auto sales. Job-cut announcements in June fell nine percent from a year earlier to 74,393, the fewest in more than a year, Chicago-based placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. reported yesterday. It was the first such decrease since February 2008.

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen said yesterday that the US economy may be about to "turn the corner" and repeated that she expects the recession, which began in December 2007, to end later this year.

The seasonally adjusted annual auto-sales rate for June was 10.1 million vehicles, based on seven analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey. That would be a decrease of 26 percent from 13.6 million a year earlier.

An industrywide rate above 10 million may signal a second- half rebound, after a drop in the first six months that was the steepest since at least 1976, according to Bloomberg data.

The analysts' company estimates are adjusted for one more sales day last month than in June 2008, and some automakers report results on that basis. Bloomberg uses unadjusted figures, which for June would be about four percentage points better than the adjusted numbers.

Rebounding to a 10 million annual sales pace would help GM and Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler, which have tried to adjust their costs to break even at that rate. US deliveries totaled 13.2 million last year and averaged 16.8 million from 2000 through 2007.

Chrysler's government-backed reorganisation ended June 10, after just 42 days, and GM is on a similar path. GM CEO Fritz Henderson said on Tuesday that President Barack Obama's administration may withdraw support if the judge does not approve the sale of some assets to a new GM by July 10.

GM said sales fell 176,571 for June, with cars falling 24 percent and light trucks declining 43 percent.

Ford, which was passed by Toyota in annual US sales in 2007, outsold the Toyota City-based company for the third straight month and leads the Japanese automaker for the first half of this year.

Ford's total sales fell to 155,195 vehicles from 174,091 a year earlier. Sales of its cars declined 17 percent in June, while the Fusion mid-size sedan had a 26 percent gain. Mustang sales were down 30 percent and F-Series pickup trucks, Ford's biggest seller, fell 7.4 percent.

Ford said sales of hybrids totaled 3,649, a record for June and a 91 percent increase from a year earlier.

Chrysler said it sold 68,297 cars and trucks, down from 117,457 a year earlier, as sales to retail customers fell 16 percent and sales to business fleets tumbled 95 percent.

Nissan's US sales for June totalled 58,298 cars and light trucks, compared with 75,847 a year earlier, Mr. Castignetti said.