Snap back? US consumer confidence rises as COVID cases drop

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to a reading of 91.3 this month from 88.9 in January.

Retail sales surged in January, prompting economists to boost their first-quarter growth estimates to as high as a 6 percent annualised rate from as low as a 2.3 percent pace.

The expectations index based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and labour market conditions slipped to 90.8 from a reading of 91.2 in January.

The survey’s so-called labour market differential, derived from data on respondents’ views on whether jobs are plentiful or hard to get, rose to a reading of 0.7 this month from -2.5 in January.

People wearing protective masks shop at Macy’s Herald Square following the outbreak of the coronavirus in New York City, the United States [File: Jeenah Moon/Reuters]The share of consumers expecting an increase in income dipped to 15.2 percent from 15.8 percent last month.

The proportion anticipating a drop fell to 13.2 percent from 15.5 percent in January.

Consumers’ inflation expectations over the next 12 months shot up to 6.3 percent from 6 percent in January.

A separate report on Tuesday showed the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-metro-area house price index soared 10.1 percent in December from a year ago, the largest gain since April 2014, after increasing 9.2 percent in November.

Robust house price inflation was confirmed by a third report showing the Federal Housing Finance Agency house price index jumped 11.4 percent year-on-year in December after rising 11.1 percent in November.