The last time consumers felt this good, the spread of COVID-19 hadn’t yet been declared a global pandemic.
On Tuesday, The Conference Board reported consumer confidence in July rose to 129.1, the highest level since February 2020.
“Consumers’ appraisal of present-day conditions held steady, suggesting economic growth in Q3 is off to a strong start,” said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board.
“Consumers’ optimism about the short-term outlook didn’t waver, and they continued to expect that business conditions, jobs and personal financial prospects will improve,” Franco added.
Even with inflation on the rise and the Delta variant spreading rapidly, it seems that U.S. consumer spending, which powers the economy, remains as it has for so much of this pandemic – resilient.
Of particular note in Tuesday’s report were Franco’s comments about how consumers see conditions for making big ticket purchases, notably homes, appliances and cars.
“Spending intentions picked up in July, with a larger percentage of consumers saying they planned to purchase homes, automobiles and major appliances in the coming months,” Franco said.
Click here to see the full report from Miles Udland in Yahoo Finance.
