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US consumer confidence rises to 6-month high
US consumer confidence rose to a six-month high in August amid optimism about the economic outlook. Still, Americans grew more concerned about the labor market after the unemployment rate jumped to a nearly three-year high of 4.3% last month.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index came in better than expected, reflecting an improving outlook for the business climate over the next six months and suggesting that the odds of a recession continue declining.
Consumer inflation expectations over 12 months fell to their lowest level since March 2020, a sign that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index rose to 103.3 this month, its highest since February, after an upward revision to 101.9 in July.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index to remain unchanged.
However consumers were less optimistic about the labor market. The share of consumers who said jobs were “plenty” fell to 32.8 percent from 33.4 percent in July. About 16.4 percent of consumers said jobs were hard to come by, up from 16.3 percent last month. Consumers’ expectations for inflation over the next 12 months fell to 4.9 percent, the lowest since March 2020, from 5.3 percent in July.
