Washington (awp / afp) – US consumer confidence improved in October contradicting analysts’ expectations and ending the continued deterioration of recent months amid fears of the Delta variant and inflation risks.
The Conference Board index, released Tuesday, gained 4 points to 113.8 points while analysts expected a further decline to 108 points.
“Consumer confidence improved in October, reversing the downward trend of the past three months, as concerns about the spread of the Delta variant subsided,” summed up Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Conference Board. in a press release.
“While concerns about short-term inflation have peaked in 13 years, the impact on confidence has been contained,” she added, noting that the proportion of consumers planning to buy homes , automobiles and major household appliances increased in October.
“This is a sign that consumer spending will continue to support economic growth in the final months of 2021,” said Ms. Franco.
In addition, nearly half of those polled (47.6%) plan to take a vacation in the next six months, the highest proportion since February 2020, just before the pandemic spread in the United States. This also illustrates the propensity of Americans to consume.
In September, the index fell to its lowest level since February.
The two components, the one measuring confidence in the current situation and the one measuring confidence in the economic situation for the next six months, recorded an increase in October but they “remain well below their peaks before the (variant) Delta. “commented Ian Shepherdson, economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
“But this is clearly a step in the right direction, and it is particularly gratifying to see confidence improve amid soaring energy prices,” he added.
The economist notes that the Covid clearly remains the major concern of consumers.
For her part, Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Oxford economics, notes that optimism about jobs and incomes has more than offset fears about inflation.
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