Confidence among U.S. consumers has risen to its highest level in five months as Americans brushed off concerns about inflation and the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, though both factors loom large as headwinds for sentiment going forward.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index rose in December to a reading of 115.8, its highest level since July. That’s up from an upwardly revised 111.9 in November, when concerns about prices rising at their highest level in decades were the chief factor driving down sentiment.
