US consumers' confidence edged up in January on the back of a more favourable view of the labour market, a survey showed today.
The Conference Board Consumer Research Center said its index of consumer sentiment rose to 110.3 in January from an upwardly revised 110.0 reading in December.
The business research group's present situation index rose to 133.9 in January from a revised 130.5 in December. The expectations index fell to 94.5 in January from a revised 96.3 in December.
Consumers had a positive view of the labour market: Those who said jobs were "plentiful" increased to 29.9 per cent in January, from a revised 27.6 per cent in December.
Those who said jobs were "hard to get" declined to 19.7 per cent from a revised 21.3 per cent in December.
Sentiment indexes have traditionally been seen as a gauge of US consumer spending, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of overall economic activity