Confidence hits three-year high
Janice Chamberlain -- Furniture Today, July 3, 2005
New York — For the second month in a row, The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose in June, posting gains in both the Present Situation Index and the Expectations Index, although home-buying plans slipped slightly.
The overall index now stands at 105.8 points, up 2.7 points over May. The Present Situation Index increased 2.9 points to 120.7 from 117.8 points in May, and the Expectations Index gained 2.4 points to finish June at 95.8 points.
In June, 3.4% of consumers surveyed said they plan to buy a home in the next six months, compared with 3.5% in May.
Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center, said, "This month's gain in consumer confidence has propelled the index to a three-year high. The improvement in consumers' mood suggests that business activity and labor market activity will continue to pick up over the next several months.
"And, with consumers in better spirits, and job concerns remaining relatively steady, there is little reason to expect a dramatic shift in consumers' spending."
Appraising the current situation, 84.5% of survey participants said business conditions were good or normal in June, compared with 83.6% in May. In June, 22.6% said jobs were plentiful, measured against 22.9% in May.
Looking ahead six months, 91% of consumers surveyed in June said business conditions would be better or the same, compared with 90.5% in May, and 92.5% expect their income in six months will increase or remain the same, measured against 91.4% in May.
Confidence was up in all nine census regions, with the Middle Atlantic region reporting the strongest gain, 16.7 points. Second-place honors went to the West North Central region, which reported a 7.2 point increase.
The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The cutoff date for June's preliminary results was June 21.
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