Slumping economic growth and rising gas prices don’t matter. US Consumer Confidence jumped to 101.1 in August – highest since Sept 2015 – smashing expectations by almost 5 standard deviations as stocks hit record highs.
Notably ‘current expectations’ rose to their highest since Aug 2007.
Not as expected…
“Consumer confidence improved in August to its highest level in nearly a year, after a marginal decline in July,” said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board.
“Consumers’ assessment of both current business and labor market conditions was considerably more favorable than last month. Short-term expectations regarding business and employment conditions, as well as personal income prospects, also improved, suggesting the possibility of a moderate pick-up in growth in the coming months.”
Consumers’ appraisal of current conditions improved in August. Those stating business conditions are “good” increased from 27.3 percent to 30.0 percent, while those saying business conditions are “bad” remained virtually unchanged at 18.4 percent. Consumers’ assessment of the labor market was also more favorable. Those claiming jobs were more “plentiful” increased from 23.0 percent to 26.0 percent, however, those claiming jobs are “hard to get” also rose, from 22.1 percent to 23.4 percent.
via http://ift.tt/2c2aECZ Tyler Durden