"… consumers expect the pace of overall economic growth to continue to slowly restore lost jobs …"
- Richard Curtin, survey director at Thomson Reuters / University of Michigan
U.S. consumer confidence improved to a year high in February as consumers became more optimistic on the outlook of the country's economy, estimated the Thomson Reuters / University of Michigan. An index of sentiment rose to 75.3 from 72.5 in January.
"It is not that surging oil prices, instability in the Mideast, the European crisis or uncertainties about future tax and spending policies could not ultimately derail the recovery, but that consumers expect the pace of overall economic growth to continue to slowly restore lost jobs despite these potential problems," survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement.
In a separate report the Census Bureau said new home sales slid to a 321 thousand annual rate in January from 324 thousand in December. Economists expected sales to decline to 316 thousand.
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