Posted on 12/28/2005 8:42:59 AM PST by LdSentinal
(AP) NEW YORK Consumer confidence surged in December as declining gasoline prices and improving job opportunities buoyed spirits, boding well for spending in the new year.
The Conference Board said Wednesday that its Consumer Confidence Index advanced to 103.6 this month after recovering to 98.3 in November. That was better than the 103.0 reading analysts had expected for December.
December's rise put the index at its highest level since Hurricane Katrina struck on Aug. 29, devastating Gulf Coast states and disrupting fuel and trade for much of the nation. Last August, before the storm, the index registered 105.5.
Stocks moved up slightly after the report was issued. In morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average increased 31.46, or 0.29 percent, to 10,809.23. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.97, or 0.24 percent, to 1,259.51, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 4.57, or 0.21 percent, to 2,231.46.
Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center, said in a statement accompanying the report that "consumer confidence continues to bounce back" from the beating it took after the hurricane.
"The resiliency of the economy, recent declines in prices at the pump, and job growth have consumers feeling more confident at year-end than they felt at the start of 2005," Franco said. "Consumers are confident that the economy will continue to expand in 2006."
The consumer confidence index stood at 102.7 in December 2004.
The report is closely watched because consumer spending drives about two-thirds of the U.S. economy, and gains in sentiment tend to precede increases in spending.
The Conference Board index is derived from responses received through Dec. 20 to a survey mailed to 5,000 households in a consumer research panel.
Although the overall index has risen strongly in the past two months, the survey indicates that consumers are more confident of current economic conditions than they are of conditions in the future.
The index measuring consumers' assessment of current-day conditions improved to 121.5 in December from 113.2 in November, while the index measuring consumers' assessment of conditions in the next six months advanced to 91.6 in December from 88.4 the month before.
The difference largely reflected perceptions of employment.
In their appraisal of current-day conditions, 23.3 percent viewed jobs as "plentiful" in December, up from 21.1 percent in November. But looking ahead, just 14.3 percent of those surveyed in December said they expected more jobs to be available, up from 14.1 percent in November.
As to income, 20.6 percent of those surveyed in December said they expected an increase in the future, down from 21.3 percent in November. But just 8.6 percent expected a decrease, down from 9.8 percent the month before.
Best US Economic performance for 11 straight quaters since the 1980s. Full Employment. Wages and spending UP. More News the Failed Media doesn't want you to know.
just imagine if gas was 1.50
Hooverville all over again.
$1.90 here in Oregon.
Paid $2.03 for regular grade in Colorado this week.
Who do you know? :)
Wow.....Course I'm in Democrat county...Palm Beach County....It must be all taxes I'm paying....
~ ~ and you don't have to pump your owm gas. :)
Price finally fell below 2 dollars this a.m. in Southern Cali. 1.99 a gallon...it's been 2.03 for about 2 weeks.
"That was better than the 103.0 reading analysts had expected for December."
Since these "analysts" and "experts" are WRONG EVERY *$%^ing month, when do we STOP listening? How many months in a row have we read and or hear that economic numbers have "exceeded the predictions of the EXPERTS"? Just don't pay any attention to these nit wits.
It stayed at $2.25 a gallon here (Northwestern Ohio) for two weeks, stubbornly refusing to go down even a penny. Raised it to $2.30 last thursday.
Well phooey!!! It's $2.09 at Sam's Club in Roseville and $2.06 at ARCO in Rocklin, just out of Sacramento on the way to Reno, up here.
you probably need a boat this a.m.
and to check for the cheapest gas check out
http://www.gasbuddy.com
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
No boat needed just yet. It's just the normal January Northern CA drizzel this AM... Japanese water torture!!!
Just sittin here in the drizzel, waitin for Arnold to fold up his tent and move on to greener pasteures. (if ya know what I mean)(snort!)
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