{"id":31196,"date":"2022-05-31T22:50:01","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T22:50:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/rising-cost-of-living-hurts-us-consumer-confidence-house-prices-soar\/"},"modified":"2022-05-31T22:50:01","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T22:50:01","slug":"rising-cost-of-living-hurts-us-consumer-confidence-house-prices-soar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/rising-cost-of-living-hurts-us-consumer-confidence-house-prices-soar\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising cost of living hurts US consumer confidence;  house prices soar"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"article-body__context_widget__1xxEe article-body__element__2p5pI\">\n<div class=\"context-widget__content__1X4Oq\">\n<ul class=\"summary__summary__31feP\">\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__medium__1kbOh text__body__yKS5U body__base__22dCE body__body_alt__2kEQu summary__point__NO-2F\">Consumer confidence index falls to 106.4 in May<\/li>\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__medium__1kbOh text__body__yKS5U body__base__22dCE body__body_alt__2kEQu summary__point__NO-2F\">Labor market gauge softens;  more say jobs hard to find<\/li>\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__medium__1kbOh text__body__yKS5U body__base__22dCE body__body_alt__2kEQu summary__point__NO-2F\">Buying intentions for cars, homes, major appliances ease<\/li>\n<li data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__medium__1kbOh text__body__yKS5U body__base__22dCE body__body_alt__2kEQu summary__point__NO-2F\">House prices accelerate year-on-year in March<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-0\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) &#8211; US consumer confidence eased modestly in May as persistently high inflation and rising interest rates force Americans to become more cautious about buying big ticket items, including motor vehicles and houses, which could curtail economic growth.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-1\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">The survey from the Conference Board on Tuesday also showed consumers&#8217; perceptions of the labor market softening a bit this month.  Though the drop in confidence was small, it suggested that the Federal Reserve&#8217;s aggressive monetary policy actions to slow demand were starting to have an impact.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-2\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">&#8220;We can never underestimate the US consumer,&#8221; said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.  &#8220;But plans to pull back on purchases, and become a little more cautious, is something that the Federal Reserve would welcome as it aims to cool demand.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"registration-prompt__container__2jf5K registration-prompt__inline__2WDU- article-body__element__2p5pI article-body__inline-registration-prompt__1-N9W\">\n<div class=\"registration-prompt__text-content__o0YET\">\n<h5 data-testid=\"Heading\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__white__3r45t text__medium__1kbOh text__heading_5__2krbj heading__base__2T28j heading__heading_5__2A2g- registration-prompt__heading__3fq-h\">Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com<\/h5>\n<p><button data-testid=\"Button\" class=\"button__button__2Ecqi button__secondary__18moI button__round__1nYLA text-button__container__3q3zX registration-prompt__button-text__3kTtQ\" type=\"button\"><\/p>\n<p><span data-testid=\"Text\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__bold__2-8Kc text__default__UPMUu text-button__medium__113uZ\">Register<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-3\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">The Conference Board&#8217;s consumer confidence index slipped to a reading of 106.4 this month.  Data for April was revised higher to show the index at 108.6 instead of the previously reported reading of 107.3.  The index remains above its pandemic lows.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-4\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">It has fared much better than the University of Michigan&#8217;s survey, where the consumer sentiment index is at an 11-year low.  The Conference Board survey puts more emphasis on the labor market.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-5\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">The survey&#8217;s so-called labor market differential, derived from data on respondents&#8217; views on whether jobs are plentiful or hard to get, fell to 39.3 this month from a reading of 44.7 in April.  That was the first time in a year that this measure, which correlates to the unemployment rate from the Labor Department, was below 40.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-6\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">About 12.5% \u200b\u200bof consumers viewed jobs as &#8220;hard to get,&#8221; up from 10.1% in April.  On face value it suggests that the jobless probably ticked up from a two-year low of 3.6% in April.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-7\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">Despite consumers&#8217; somewhat unfavorable perceptions, the labor market is tightening, with the Conference Board noting that &#8220;they do expect labor market conditions to remain relatively strong, which should continue to support confidence in the short run.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-8\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">There were a record 11.5 million job openings on the last day of March and an all-time high 4.5 million workers resigned.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-9\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">Stocks on Wall Street were lower.  The dollar was steady against a basket of currencies.  US Treasury prices fell.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"article-body__element__2p5pI\" data-testid=\"graphic-0\">\n<div class=\"reuters-graphic__image-container__Pqe8z\">\n<div data-testid=\"StatefulImage\" class=\"stateful-image__container__hH_Q_ stateful-image__light__2XHJA\">\n<div data-testid=\"Image\" class=\"stateful-image__image__ThpeM\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__medium-grey__3A_RT text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__base__22dCE body__caption__3L8vY reuters-graphic__figcaption__2fuWM\">Consumer confidence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure data-testid=\"image-0\" class=\"article-image__figure__3SBJc article-body__element__2p5pI\">\n<div data-testid=\"StatefulImage\" class=\"stateful-image__container__hH_Q_ stateful-image__light__2XHJA article-image__image__31ytm\">\n<div data-testid=\"Image\" class=\"stateful-image__image__ThpeM\"><noscript><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com\/reuters\/TQQNMX4QSVLV7IGVUMTB5EQCJU.jpg?ssl=1\" alt=\"An employee hangs children's clothing at a Target store in King of Prussia\" title=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__medium-grey__3A_RT text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__base__22dCE body__caption__3L8vY article-image__figcaption__ttQIt\">An employee hangs children&#8217;s clothing at a Target store in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania US November 20, 2020. REUTERS \/ Mark Makela \/ File Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-10\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">INFLATION PEAKED<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-11\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">Consumers&#8217; inflation expectations over the next 12 months dipped to 7.4% from 7.5% in April.  That fits in with economists&#8217; views that inflation has likely peaked.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-12\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">The Fed has increased its policy interest rate by 75 basis points since March.  The US central bank is expected to hike the overnight rate by half a percentage point at each of its next meetings in June and in July.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-13\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">With prices still high and borrowing costs rising, consumers are reassessing their spending plans.  The share of consumers planning to buy a motor vehicle over the next six months dipped.  Fewer consumers intended to buy major household appliances like refrigerators, washing machines, dryers and television sets.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-14\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">But the buying plans remained at levels sufficient to keep consumer spending growing and the overall economy expanding.  Rising interest rates and the accompanying tightening in financial conditions have left Americans worried about an imminent recession.  Economists say the hand-wringing about an economic downturn was exaggerated, noting the record high job openings and resignations.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-15\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">&#8220;Recessions are ultimately a loss of faith,&#8221; said Bernard Yaros, an economist at Moody&#8217;s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania.  &#8220;Yet consumers have no fear when it comes to job security. People are quitting their jobs at a prodigious rate, knowing they will easily find another job given the record number of open job positions.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-16\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">Consumers this month also showed less inclination to buy a house as rising mortgage rates and record house prices eroded affordability.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-17\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">A separate report on Tuesday showed the S&#038;P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20 metropolitan area home price index surged a record 21.2% on a year-on-year basis in March after increasing 20.3% in February.  Tight inventory, especially of previously owned houses, is driving house prices.  Big price gains were recorded in a number of cities including Tampa, Phoenix and Miami.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-18\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">Strong house price inflation was reinforced by another report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency showing home prices increased 19% in the 12 months through March after rising 19.3% in February.  Price gains were across the board, with notable increases in the South Atlantic, East South Central, West South Central, Mountain and Pacific regions.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"article-body__element__2p5pI\" data-testid=\"graphic-1\">\n<div class=\"reuters-graphic__image-container__Pqe8z\">\n<div data-testid=\"StatefulImage\" class=\"stateful-image__container__hH_Q_ stateful-image__light__2XHJA\">\n<div data-testid=\"Image\" class=\"stateful-image__image__ThpeM\"><noscript><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/graphics.reuters.com\/USA-STOCKS\/dwvkrnyelpm\/caseshiller.png?ssl=1\" alt=\"Shiller Homes\" title=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__medium-grey__3A_RT text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2 body__base__22dCE body__caption__3L8vY reuters-graphic__figcaption__2fuWM\">Shiller Homes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-19\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">With demand slowing, house price inflation will cool down.  Reports this month showed continued declines in sales of new and previously owned home in April.  Applications for loans to purchase a home have also been dropping.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-20\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">&#8220;House price gains will be far more modest from here,&#8221; said Matthew Pointon, senior property economist at Capital Economics in New York.  &#8220;We expect annual growth to slow to zero by mid-2023.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"registration-prompt__container__2jf5K registration-prompt__inline__2WDU- article-body__element__2p5pI\">\n<div class=\"registration-prompt__text-content__o0YET\">\n<h5 data-testid=\"Heading\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__white__3r45t text__medium__1kbOh text__heading_5__2krbj heading__base__2T28j heading__heading_5__2A2g- registration-prompt__heading__3fq-h\">Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com<\/h5>\n<p><button data-testid=\"Button\" class=\"button__button__2Ecqi button__secondary__18moI button__round__1nYLA text-button__container__3q3zX registration-prompt__button-text__3kTtQ\" type=\"button\"><\/p>\n<p><span data-testid=\"Text\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__bold__2-8Kc text__default__UPMUu text-button__medium__113uZ\">Register<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-testid=\"Text\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__default__UPMUu sign-off__text__PU3Aj\">Reporting by Lucia Mutikani;  Editing by Andrea Ricci<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\">Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>    .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Consumer confidence index falls to 106.4 in May Labor market gauge softens; more say jobs hard to find Buying intentions for cars, homes, major appliances ease House prices accelerate year-on-year in March WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) &#8211; US consumer confidence eased modestly in May as persistently high inflation and rising interest rates force Americans to &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/rising-cost-of-living-hurts-us-consumer-confidence-house-prices-soar\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Rising cost of living hurts US consumer confidence;  house prices soar<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[8],"tags":[56,73,24,2626,30,508,507,3122,510,37,265,41,509,76,735,64,46,511,75,57],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.reuters.com\/resizer\/xpx3Qvt5o5sD0U3ONvzQOGR6Lh4=\/1200x628\/smart\/filters:quality(80)\/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com\/reuters\/TQQNMX4QSVLV7IGVUMTB5EQCJU.jpg?ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/resizer\/xpx3Qvt5o5sD0U3ONvzQOGR6Lh4=\/1200x628\/smart\/filters:quality(80)\/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com\/reuters\/TQQNMX4QSVLV7IGVUMTB5EQCJU.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31196"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}