Nov 2016 Financial News

US consumer confidence rebounds in November

Nov 30, 2016

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US consumer confidence rebounded in November, returning to pre-recession levels, driven by renewed optimism in the economic outlook, the Conference Board said yesterday.

The consumer confidence index jumped nearly seven points to 107.1, well above the consensus forecast. The index stood at 111.9 in July 2007, prior to the outbreak of the financial crisis.

Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board said, “A more favourable assessment of current conditions coupled with a more optimistic short-term outlook helped boost confidence.”

Confidence in the present situation jumped seven points, and the expectations index rose nearly six points.

Franco said in a statement that while most consumers were surveyed before the presidential election “it appears from the small sample of post-election responses that consumers’ optimism was not impacted by the outcome”.

For the holiday shopping season “a more confident consumer should be welcome news for retailers”.

The view of current business conditions showed a slight uptick with 29.2 per cent of respondents perceiving conditions as “good” compared to the prior month, and a decline in those who think the situation is “bad”.

Views on the job situation were fairly stable, with those who say jobs are plentiful – up just over a point­ – but those who say jobs are hard to get– unchanged from October.

For the six-month outlook, those expecting a better outlook fell a point, but those who expect a worse outlook fell by two.

Source:
Jamaica Observer
Wednesday November 30, 2016   

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/US-consumer-confidence-rebounds-in-November_82050