Consumer Confidence Highest in Five Months

Consumer confidence in the US rebounded to some degree just in time for the holiday shopping months. The Consumer Confidence Index rose to 54.1 in November, up from 49.9 in October. The expected index was somewhere around 52, but economists were pleasantly surprised as the 5,000 surveyed households reported a significant increase in their economic optimism. The expectations component of the index increased to 74.2 from 67.5 in October, and the present situation measure rose to 24 from 23.5. 16.7% of Americans expected business conditions to improve over the next several months, up from 15.8% last month.Over 10% even rather optimistically expected a boost in their incomes, perhaps due to the expectation of Christmas bonuses. We can only hope that this optimism remains throughout the holiday season and for long after.