The U.S. labor market remains strong despite lingering macroeconomic headwinds. Moreover, consumer spending has been largely resilient in the face of high inflation and steep interest-rate hikes. According to Bank of America (BAC), their credit and debit card spending per household rose 5.1% year-over-year in January, compared to 2.2% in December 2022.
Moreover, the University of Michigan's preliminary February reading on the overall consumer sentiment index came in at 66.4, the highest reading since January 2022, up 2.3% month-over-month.
