U.S. Conference Board shows rebound in consumer confidence

Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Confidence in the U.S. economy remains high over the short and long term, though wage prospects remain something of a concern, the Conference Board said Wednesday.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for December increased from 101.4 in November to 108.3, ending a period of back-to-back declines.

"Inflation expectations retreated in December to their lowest level since September 2021, with recent declines in gas prices a major impetus," Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, said. "Vacation intentions improved but plans to purchase homes and big-ticket appliances cooled further."

Retail gasoline prices remain one of the more ubiquitous signs of consumer-level inflation and those prices have been in a bit of free fall for the better part of the month. Travel club AAA listed an average retail price of $3.11 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline on Wednesday, down more than 50 cents from a month ago.

Consumer inflation is also on the decline. For the 12-month period ending in November, the price of all consumer goods increased by 7.1%, compared with levels closer to 10% in June.

On business conditions in general, the Conference Board found that 20.1% of the respondents felt the current situation was bad, down from the last reading of 23.6%, Six months out and only 20.3% of the respondents said they believed conditions would deteriorate further, an improvement from 21% previously.

The labor market, meanwhile, continues to show resilience despite lingering inflationary pressures. Currently, only 12% of the respondents felt that jobs were hard to get and just 18% expected hiring problems to last.

Wages, meanwhile, aren't keeping up with inflation and the outlook from the Conference Board was poor. Only 16.7% of those surveyed expected to get a raise any time soon, down from 17.1% from the November report.

November marked the fifth month in a row for a decline in inflation and represents the smallest 12-month increase since the similar period ending in December 2021. An early-December survey, however, found nearly 75% of U.S. shoppers were changing habits in response to higher grocery bills.