There was a good sign amid the measures of confidence in April—which were otherwise subdued, according to the latest U.S. data.
Household confidence in the present situation picked up in April and is up at a strong pace year-to-date and compared with a year ago. This is good news because this measure is best associated with spending trends, especially among lower-income households.
As a result, expect that recent spending trends will be sustained. That especially should be the case among homegoods categories, as was evident in the latest retail sales trends summarized in this post.
The softness in the confidence measures largely reflects weaker expectations about the future, which may be attributed in part to concerns among upper-income households amid the ongoing election season.
See the table summary for more detail.
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