Consumer Confidence Increasing In April
After reaching a three-decade low of 55.3 in November, the Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment rose to 58.5 from 57.3 in March, based on an average of sixty one estimates, and it is hoped than an improvement in confidence may help sustain a recovery in consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of the U.S. economy.
The Commerce Department said yesterday (April 16th) that builders broke ground at an annual rate of 358,000 on single-family homes in March, which although unchanged from the previous month, suggests that the housing market may have reached bottom, and The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo confidence index also rose this month to its highest level since October.
James O’Sullivan, who is a senior economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut said, “The economy has started to show signs of improvement. Given all the policy action and mortgage rates coming down, we are starting to see less pessimism”.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said just one day before the report was made public that, “the signs of stability make for a potential first step toward a recovery from the downturn that started in December 2007″.
Other encouraging news is that reports by the Philadelphia Fed and New York Fed earlier this week showed manufacturing shrinking at a slower pace this month, and according to the Labor Department, the number of Americans applying for first-time jobless benefits unexpectedly dropped last week to the lowest level in almost three months.
