"Equity prices are generally rising, which is a good sign for consumers"
- Ryan Sweet, senior economist at Moody's Analytics
Consumer confidence picked up this month, as Americans' outlook for the economy and their own incomes improved significantly. The Conference Board said Tuesday that the index of consumer attitudes soared to 68.1 from an upwardly revised 61.9 in March, outpacing analysts' expectations of slowdown to 61.4. A measure of current economic conditions rose to 60.4 in April from 59.2 in March. Even despite the improvement, consumers remain highly vulnerable to the recent payroll tax hike and the $85 billion in automatic spending cuts, or so-called sequester, that was triggered last month.
"Equity prices are generally rising, which is a good sign for consumers," said Ryan Sweet, senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. "Gas prices are down, and gas prices are usually rising at this time of year, so that's providing some relief. The key factor is going to be the job market."
A separate report showed that the Wall Street believes the QE will not be cancelled by the Federal Reserve at least until 2014. The report also showed that market participants are not sure whether it is a good time for cutting the deficit, as the sequester hits and the economy remains weak. The average amount of expected purchases in 2013 increased to $936 billion, up from $917 billion in the March survey.
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