Investing.com - U.S. consumer confidence improved unexpectedly in September, boosting optimism over the health of the economy and supporting the case for a U.S. interest rate hike this year, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Conference Board, a market research group, said its index of consumer confidence rose to 103.0 this month from a reading of 101.3 in August, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 101.5. Analysts expected the index to fall to 96.1 in September.
The Present Situation Index increased from 115.8 last month to 121.1 in September, while the Expectations Index edged down to 91.0 from 91.6 in August.
Commenting on the report, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center Lynn Franco said, “Consumers’ more positive assessment of current conditions fueled this month’s increase, and drove the Present Situation Index to an 8-year high."
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 September 17.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1231 from around 1.1228 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5155 from 1.5158 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 119.88 from 119.81 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 96.13, compared to 96.15 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were higher after the open. The Dow 30 rose 0.2%, the S&P 500 tacked on 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite inched up 0.35%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,131.50 a troy ounce, compared to $1,133.00 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $45.08 a barrel from $45.03 earlier.