US: CB Consumer Confidence Index improves to 138.4 in September vs 132.1 expected

"The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® increased in September, following a large improvement in August. The Index now stands at 138.4 (1985=100), up from 134.7 in August," the Conference Board reported on Tuesday.

Key takeaways from the press release

• The Present Situation Index improved marginally from 172.8 to 173.1, while the Expectations Index surged from 109.3 last month to 115.3 this month.
• The September reading is not far from the all-time high of 144.7 reached in 2000.
  • Consumers’ assessment of current conditions remains extremely favorable, bolstered by a strong economy and robust job growth.
• Those claiming jobs are “plentiful” increased from 42.3 percent to 45.7 percent, but those claiming jobs are “hard to get” increased from 12.1 percent to 13.2 percent.
• The percentage of consumers anticipating business conditions will improve over the next six months increased from 24.4 percent to 27.6 percent, while those expecting business conditions will worsen declined, from 9.9 percent to 8.0 percent.