Consumer confidence measured by the Conference Board rose for the first time in four months as Americans enter the busiest shopping season of the year.
The index rose to 102 in November from 99.1 in October, the Conference Board said Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Reuters expected a reading of 101.
The expectations component of the index, which reflects consumers' short-term views for income, business and labor market conditions, improved to 77.8 from 72.7. Despite the increase, a level below 80 signals a recession in the next year, the Conference Board said.
The index component that follows the current situation slightly fell to 138.2 from 138.6.
"General improvements were seen across the spectrum of income groups surveyed in November," Conference Board Chief Economist Dana Peterson said in the statement. "Nonetheless, write-in responses revealed consumers remain preoccupied with rising prices in general, followed by war/conflicts and higher interest rates."
Another survey released last week by the University of Michigan showed that optimism among American consumers fell for the fourth consecutive month, with a worsening of their expectations about inflation. The consumer confidence index fell to 61.3 in November from 63.8 in October.
According to data from Adobe Analytics, the holiday season started with strong sales. Online consumer spending rose 7.8% during Cyber Week, the five days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. The initial estimate by Adobe was for an increase of 5.4%.
