Consumer Confidence in U.S. Increases More Than Forecast
By Jeanna Smialek - Feb 26, 2013 10:11 AM ET ..
Confidence among U.S. consumers jumped more than forecast in February as Americans adjusted to a higher payroll tax and signs of a recovering housing market spurred faith in the future.
The Conference Board’s index climbed to 69.6, exceeding all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists, from a revised 58.4 in January, data from the New York-based private research group showed today. It was the first improvement in four months and the biggest since November 2011.
The gain in sentiment from the lowest level in more than a year signals Americans are beginning to cope with the a two percentage-point increase in the payroll tax used to fund Social Security and higher gasoline prices that are curbing disposable income. Rising home values and gains in employment may be brightening attitudes, helping to underpin spending.
“The job market is healing, we’re creating enough jobs to at least keep the unemployment rate stable,” Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said before the report. “House prices are rising, and that’s helping to improve confidence.” Economists at Moody’s Analytics are the most accurate consumer-confidence forecasters in the two years through January, according to Bloomberg calculations.
The median forecast of 76 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected an increase to 62. Estimates ranged from 58 to 66.5. The measure averaged 53.7 in the recession that ended in June 2009.
more@Bloomberg.com
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