Investing.com - U.S. consumer confidence rose more than forecast in January, bolstering optimism over the outlook for the consumption-driven economy, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Conference Board, a market research group, said its index of consumer confidence increased to 125.4 this month from a reading of 123.1 (revised up from an initial 122.1) in December.
Analysts had expected the index to advance to just 123.1 in January.
The Present Situation Index decreased slightly, from 156.5 to 155.3, while the Expectations Index increased from 100.8 last month to 105.5 this month.
The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was January 16.
Lynn Franco, director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, indicated that even though consumers’ assessment of current conditions decreased slightly, it remained at historically strong levels.
“Expectations improved, though consumers were somewhat ambivalent about their income prospects over the coming months, perhaps the result of some uncertainty regarding the impact of the tax plan,” she added.
“Overall, however, consumers remain quite confident that the solid pace of growth seen in late 2017 will continue into 2018,” Franco affirmed.
After the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.2425 from around 1.2445 ahead of the publication; GBP/USD was at 1.4123 from 1.4134 earlier; while USD/JPY was at 108.38 from 108.49 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, traded at 88.91 compared to 88.81 prior to the release.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were trading lower after the open. The Dow 30 slid 317 points, or 1.20%, the S&P 500 fell 30 points or 1.05%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded down 84 points, or 1.12%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures changed hands at $1,343.50 a troy ounce from $1,345.60 previously, while crude oil traded at $64.16 a barrel from $64.28 earlier.