US Consumer Confidence Rises To 16-Month High

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

NEW YORK, USA (Worthy News) – America’s consumer confidence increased to a 16-month high in November as optimism about the world’s leading economy increased partly due to Donald J. Trump’s election victory, market watchers announced Tuesday.

With the United States soon cheering this holiday shopping season, Worthy News learned there was joy over the labor market, expectations for lower inflation, and higher stock prices over the next year.

The Conference Board, a non-profit business membership and research organization, did not directly attribute the improvement to the election.

However, it was noted that “write-in responses about politics, including the November elections, surged to above 2020 levels.”

Trump, who is set to return to the White House, also saw his Republican Party gain control of the U.S. Congress, which will help him implement economic and other policy moves.

Data released Tuesday showed that the Conference Board’s confidence gauge rose 2.1 points to 111.7 this month. The figure aligned with the median estimate in a Bloomberg news service survey of economists.

A gauge of present conditions increased to an eight-month high, and the group’s measure of expectations for the next six months edged to an almost three-year high.

POSITIVE ASSESSMENTS

“November’s increase was mainly driven by more positive consumer assessments of the present situation, particularly regarding the labor market,” Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, said in a statement.

“Compared to October, consumers were also substantially more optimistic about future job availability, which reached its highest level in almost three years.”

The announcement came despite brief market volatility after Trump announced that Mexico and Canada would be hit with a 25 percent tariff on all imports.

China risks a further 10 percent “above any additional tariffs” until it cracks down on fentanyl smuggling, Trump warned in statements Tuesday.

Europe and Britain were expected to be on the list, but to the amazement of market insiders, Trump looked, in the first instance, north, south, and east.

After volatility, stocks headed toward fresh highs as investors looked past Trump’s plan to impose additional tariffs on the U.S.’s top trading partners.

“We still see tariffs as more strategizing and think the bark will be worse than the bite,” said Andrew Brenner, the head of international fixed-income at brokerage firm NatAlliance Securities.

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