The consumer confidence report that came out yesterday marked an important milestone. The reading for July was a surprising 90.9, up from 86.4 in June. It was also the highest consumer confidence figure since October 2007 – the month before the recession started.
So consumer confidence is at its highest level in almost six years. That doesn’t mean it’s high on a relative level, though. The long-term average reading for this figure is 93.4. So even after six years of recovery, we are still below historic norms in terms of consumer confidence.
Today will bring more insight into the state of the economy, as the Commerce Department releases its first estimate of second quarter GDP. This comes on the heels of the very disappointing 2.9 percent contraction of the economy we endured in the first quarter. We’ll keep you posted on that figure as well.
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