Consumer Confidence Builds
The spring thaw seems to have melted economic fears slightly, with consumer confidence blossoming and consumer spending stabilizing in April, according to the RBC CASH Index.
Consumer sentiment was bolstered by a 58.3 point increase in Americans’ expectations for the future. Americans’ attitudes about current conditions and investing also increased, but jobs continue to be a concern. “Stabilization does not mean recovery, but is a far better prospect than the free fall of late last year,” said Larry Miller, managing director of RBC Capital Markets (New York). “Whether this translates into an improvement in consumer spending is another ball game, and one that is far too early to call.”
This represented the first significant improvement in the index since September 2008. Overall consumer confidence advanced 30.1 points, bringing the RBC CASH Index to 38.3 in April, versus 8.2 in March.
After dropping for six consecutive months, the RBC Jobs Index edged up 4.4 points in April to 45.2, compared to 40.8 the previous month.
Although consumers continue to be peppered with bad news on the jobs front, Americans’ confidence regarding overall job security held steady, but remained very low as of press time. [June 2009 PET AGE]
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