China News Service, Washington, August 30 (Reporter Sha Hanting) According to data released by the Conference Board on the 30th local time, the U.S. consumer confidence index rose to 103.2 in August, the highest since May. record.
The data showed that the U.S. consumer confidence index was 103.2 in August, up 7.9 from the July reading of 95.3.
It was the first rise in consumer confidence after three straight months of declines.
Analysts believe that the fall in oil prices is an important factor driving the rise in the consumer confidence index.
The average U.S. gasoline price fell to $3.85 a gallon on the 30th, down from a peak of $5 in mid-June, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor on the 10th of this month, the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) in July this year was flat month-on-month, up 8.5% year-on-year.
In response to inflation, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates four times this year, and the target range for the federal funds rate has been raised to between 2.25% and 2.5%.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said recently that he expects to raise interest rates again "substantially" in September.
Lynn Franco, an expert at the World Federation of Large Enterprises, believes that the improvement in the consumer confidence index in August means that personal consumption may increase in the future, but inflation and additional interest rate hikes will still affect economic growth.
The revised data released by the US Department of Commerce on the 25th showed that the US gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an annual rate of 0.6% in the second quarter of this year, which has been shrinking for two consecutive quarters.
Some analysts believe that the possibility of bringing the economy into recession is increasing as the Fed raises interest rates continuously to reduce inflation.
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