In this Feb. 21, 2012 photo, a customer exits Lowe's, in New York. A private research group says that consumer confidence in February rose to the highest level since a year ago when the U.S. economy?s outlook started to look brighter before souring again. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
In this Feb. 21, 2012 photo, a customer exits Lowe's, in New York. A private research group says that consumer confidence in February rose to the highest level since a year ago when the U.S. economy?s outlook started to look brighter before souring again. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
In this Feb. 27, 2012 photo, a shopper from Los Angeles, loads a 60 inch Samsung LED TV into his truck at Costco Wholesale store in Glendale, Calif. A private research group says that consumer confidence in February rose to the highest level since a year ago when the U.S. economy?s outlook started to look brighter before souring again. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
NEW YORK (AP) ? U.S. consumer confidence in February rose dramatically from last month to the highest level since a year ago, a private research group said Tuesday. The index is closely watched because consumer confidence makes up the majority of U.S. economic activity, and the news reflects a better attitude about the economy ? good news for President Barack Obama as he seeks re-election this year.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 70.8, up from a revised 61.5 in January, helped by consumers' improving assessment of the job market. Analysts had expected a reading of 63. The February reading marks the highest level since February 2011, when it was 72.0.
The news gave confidence to Wall Street, helping it to reclaim the last of the ground it held before plunging into the depths of the Great Recession. The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 13,000 on Tuesday for the first time since May 19, 2008, four months before the fall of Lehman Brothers investment bank and the worst of the financial crisis.
The confidence index is still far below the 90 that indicates a healthy economy. But it's closer to levels that indicate a steady economy. The index has risen slowly since hitting an all-time low of 25.3 in February of 2009. And in the past 12 months, it's jumped from the high 60s to the low 40s amid continued worries about the health of the U.S. economy.
"Consumers are considerably less pessimistic about current business and labor market conditions that they were in January," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center in a statement. "Despite further increases in gas prices, they are more optimistic about the short-term outlook for the economy, job prospects and their financial situation."
According to the survey of consumers, conducted from Feb. 1 through Feb. 15, shoppers are optimistic about the job market. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead increased to 18.7 percent from 16.4 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs declined to 16.9 percent from 19.1 percent.
There are reasons for optimism. The government says 243,000 jobs were added in January, pushing down the unemployment rate to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three years. Unemployment has fallen five months in a row for the first time since 1994. Job figures for February are due out next week.
But there also are reasons for caution. The European debt crisis threatens to hurt the U.S. economy. And rising gas prices could limit spending by middle- and lower-income shoppers. The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline rose 18 cents to $3.69 from two weeks earlier, according to the Lundberg Survey of fuel prices released Sunday.
The index dropped to an all-time low of 25.3 in February 2009. Over the past 12 months, it has been going back and forth from the high 60s to the low 40s on continued worries about the economy.
In fact, confidence fell last October to 40.9, the lowest since March 2009, during the thick of the recession.
Associated Presspaul george eddie long eddie murphy ufc 143 weigh ins micron ceo glenn miller who do you think you are
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.