2024-02-16 15:36:16
(Washington) Consumer confidence increased further in February in the United States, with households showing optimism that inflation will continue to fall, according to the preliminary estimate from the University of Michigan released Friday.
The index increased by 0.6 points compared to January, standing at 79.6 points, its highest level since July 2021.
The progression is a little stronger than expected, since analysts forecast 79.3 points, according to the Briefing.com consensus.
This “suggests that consumers continue to feel more reassured regarding the economy,” said the director of the survey, Joanne Hsu, quoted in the press release.
They “continued to express their confidence in the continued slowdown in inflation and the strength of the labor market”, and the index measuring five-year expectations even reached “its highest level since December 2020” , she added.
Inflation, however, slowed less than expected in January (+3.1%), not yet falling below 3% year-on-year, according to the CPI index. On the producer side, it even rebounded over a month, and more than expected (+0.3%), showed the PPI wholesale price index also published on Friday.
The unemployment rate remained very low in January, at 3.7%, and job creation exceeded expectations.
“Consumers recognize that the economy is in a decent place right now, with good job opportunities and inflation that is not as punishing as last year,” said Robert Frick, economist for Navy Federal Credit Union. .
However, he says, “for this confidence to reach pre-pandemic levels, we will need to see further declines in the inflation rate, and probably an improvement in housing affordability.”
Consumer confidence in the health of the economy will be one of the major elements of the November presidential election, and current President Joe Biden, who is seeking a second term, is just beginning to seem successful in convincing Americans on this point.
His probable opponent, former President Donald Trump, has constantly claimed that he himself, when he was in the White House, made the American economy particularly solid.
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