US Consumer confidence unphased by political noise - ING

James Smith, Economist at ING, point out that today’s US consumer confidence data,  shows that consumers are less influenced by politics than businesses. 

Key Quotes: 

“A rise in confidence suggests US consumers aren’t phased by the recent noise surrounding Trump’s healthcare and fiscal policies. That’s according to the latest Conference Board Consumer Confidence reading, which came in comfortably above consensus at 121.1 – representing an improvement in both the perception of the current economic situation and expectations for the future.”

“Consumer behaviour is typically less influenced by day-to-day political headlines than businesses (particularly larger ones), who are naturally much more sensitive to the intricacies of any changes in government policy.”

“All this points to a rebound in consumer spending during the second quarter following a disappointing start to the year – we expect GDP growth to come in close to 3% on Friday. That’s one reason why we are likely to see the Fed continue to strike an upbeat tone in its statement tomorrow.”