United States: Consumer confidence rises in February
Consumer confidence came in at 91.3 in February, up from January’s 88.9. As a result, the index moved closer to the 100-threshold, but still indicated pessimism among consumers.
The uptick came on the back of a strong increase in consumers’ assessment of current labor market and economic conditions, likely buoyed by the ongoing rollout out of an effective Covid-19 vaccine across the country. That said, consumers’ outlook on future economic and labor market conditions fell marginally.
Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, noted:
“While the Expectations Index fell marginally in February, consumers remain cautiously optimistic, on the whole, about the outlook for the coming months. Notably, vacation intentions—particularly, plans to travel outside the U.S. and via air—saw an uptick this month, and are poised to improve further as vaccination efforts expand.”