Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Consumers Ending 2016 With Optimism


Consumer confidence reached another post-recession high in December, as the stock market soared to a new record after the election of Donald Trump and the outlook for the job market remains robust.

The Conference Board said Tuesday its consumer confidence index increased to 113.7 in December from an upwardly revised 109.4 in November, according to USAToday.

“The post-election surge in optimism for the economy, jobs and income prospects, as well as for stock prices which reached a 13-year high, was most pronounced among older consumers,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, a nonprofit business research organization.

Much of the confidence boost came from expectations that short-term economic conditions will improve. The Expectations Index, which measures consumers' outlook for the next six months, rose sharply from 94.4 in November to 105.5, a 13-year high.

Consumers who expect business conditions to improve in the next six months increased to 23.6% from 16.4%. Those expecting business conditions to worsen declined from 9.9% to 8.7%.

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