Consumer confidence at three-year high

In a day where much of the focus has been on the violence in Libya and its impact on oil prices, the Conference Board released its monthly survey and provided another piece of the economic puzzle showing that the rising tide of economic activity is lifting spirits.

The Consumer Confidence Index jumped from 64.8 in January to 70.4 in February, well above the stagnant range its been in since the summer of 2009 and the best reading in three years.



Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, cited “growing optimism about the short-term future,” but also cautioned that labor market conditions may have improved moderately, but they "still remain rather weak."

Rising consumer confidence is likely to lend more support to consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of the U.S. economy.  Further gains in spending would fuel additional activity and help to put the recovery on a self-sustaining path.

But meaningful increases in employment are what’s needed in order to get consumer confidence back to pre-recession levels and revive sectors of the economy, such as housing, that continue to lag.