U.S. Consumer Confidence Ticks Up in January -- Conference Board
27 January 2021 - 02:44AM
Dow Jones News
By Xavier Fontdegloria
Consumer confidence in the U.S. rose in January as expectations
for the economy and the labor market improved, according to data
from The Conference Board released Tuesday.
The consumer confidence index increased to 89.3 in January from
a downwardly revised 87.1 in December. The reading beats economists
estimates, who polled by The Wall Street Journal expected consumer
sentiment to decrease slightly to 88.0.
January marks the first uptick in consumer confidence after
three consecutive months of declines for the index. However, it
remains far from the 101.4 pandemic high registered in October and
from February's pre-pandemic levels of 132.6.
The uptick in confidence was driven by a more upbeat consumers'
outlook for the economy and jobs, suggesting that consumers foresee
conditions improving in the not-too-distant future, said Lynn
Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference
Board.
However, "consumers' appraisal of present-day conditions
weakened further in January, with Covid-19 still the major
suppressor," she said.
The present situation index, which reflects consumers assessment
of current business and labor market conditions, fell to 84.4 from
87.2 the previous month. The expectations index, which gauges
short-term outlook for income, business and labor market
conditions, increased to 92.5 in January from 87.0 in December.
The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions and
the labor market will improve over the next six months increased
moderately, the data shows.
"In addition, the percent of consumers who said they intend to
purchase a home in the next six months improved, suggesting that
the pace of home sales should remain robust in early 2021," Ms.
Franco said.
Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 26, 2021 10:29 ET (15:29 GMT)
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