"We saw a meaningful improvement in overall financial market conditions and home prices, and those are the kind of drivers now for consumer confidence"
- Millan Mulraine, director of U.S. rates research at TD Securities USA LLC
Sentiment among the U.S. consumers soared to a three-month high in February, buoyed by signs of increased hiring and overall improvement in the labour market outweighing worries about a decline in future income. According to the report by the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's, a gauge of consumer sentiment climbed to 76.3 this month from 73.8 in January, above analysts' expectations of a reading of 74.8. In the meantime, the barometer of current economic conditions improved to 88 from 85, while the gauge of consumer expectations rose to 68.7 from 66.6. A strengthening job market, increased property values and the fact that stocks are trading at five-year highs are providing a boost to Americans' balance sheets.
"We saw a meaningful improvement in overall financial market conditions and home prices, and those are the kind of drivers now for consumer confidence," said Millan Mulraine, director of U.S. rates research at TD Securities USA LLC in New York, who projected a sentiment index of 76. "As attitudes continue to improve, we are likely to see that possibly be reflected in improved spending."
"In the United States we see some signs of improvement", Muhtar Kent, chief executive officer at Coca Cola Co., said on a Feb. 12 call with analysts.
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