Consumer Confidence at 3-Year High

- Consumer Confidence for June rose to 105.8 versus estimates of 104.0 and an upwardly revised reading of 103.1 in May.

BOTTOM LINE: US consumer confidence rose to a three-year high in June, spurred by an improving labor market and rising incomes. The percentage of consumers expecting their incomes to rise was the highest this year even as gas prices rose. Incomes rose 7% last month from a year earlier, more than twice the rate of inflation. The present situations component of the index increased to 120.7, the highest since September 2001. The expectations component of the index rose to 95.8 from 93.4. The percentage of consumers who expected their incomes to increase in the next six months increased to 19.4%, the highest this year. The percentage of consumers who saw jobs as “hard to get” fell to 22.6% from 24.1%. Overall, a very positive report considering energy prices are near record highs.