New York, NY (BBN) – New York research group the Conference Board’s index climbed up to 90.9 this month to go further than the 86.4 grade it achieved in June.
The result far exceeded market expectations portrayed by a Bloomberg survey of economists.
US economics head for Renaissance Macro Research LLC Neil Dutta described the economic conditions that led to the improvement by saying, “Employment conditions improved, gas prices are lower, equity markets remain robust, and that’s pretty much it.”
He added that consumer optimism may be an indicator that unemployment will continue to go down at a stable pace. Spending was boosted by the largest number of Americans in six years believing incomes will increase and that jobs will remain plenty, according to the mt5.com report.
A ratio of 15.9 percent shared the sentiment in June, the highest since May 2008, compared to the 14.6 percent in the previous month.
A report from the Labor Department earlier said that 288,000 new jobs were created in June which has helped push unemployment down to its lowest in six years of 6.1 percent.
Further improvements are expected to weigh heavily on the Federal Reserve’s decision making which is holding a two day meeting starting today.
The Conference Board’s director for economic indicators Lynn Franco claimed that more positive outlook on the US economy “suggest the recent strengthening in growth is likely to continue into the second half of this year.”
More stable food prices also looked to start in June after a drought and hog virus pushed up food prices in the months before.
According to data from the Labor Department, prices for food showed a smaller increase of 0.1 percent in June compared to 1.1 percent the previous month. Food prices have gained 2.4 percent since June last year.
BBN/SSR/AD-31July14-1:31 am (BST)
