Consumer confidence climbs higher in February

The widely watched measure of consumer confidence from The Conference Board now stands at 70.8, up from 61.5 in January.

“Consumer confidence, which had declined last month, posted a sizeable improvement in February," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "The Index is now close to levels last seen a year ago. Consumers are considerably less pessimistic about current business and labor market conditions than they were in January. And, despite further increases in gas prices, they are more optimistic about the short-term outlook for the economy, job prospects and their financial situation.”   

Consumers’ assessment of current conditions was more favorable in February. Those claiming business conditions are “good” increased slightly to 13.3% from 13.2%, while those claiming business conditions are “bad” decreased to 31.2% from 38.3%.