US: Conference Board Consumer Confidence improves to 137.9 in Oct from 135.3 in Sep

"The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased again in October, following a modest improvement in September," the Conference Board reported on Tuesday. "The Index now stands at 137.9 (1985=100), up from 135.3 in September."

Key takeaways from the press release

• The Present Situation Index – based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions – improved from 169.4 to 172.8.
• The Expectations Index – based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions – increased from 112.5 last month to 114.6 this month.
• The percentage of consumers saying business conditions are “good” increased from 39.9 percent to 40.5.
• The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions will improve over the next six months increased from 25.8 percent to 26.3 percent.
• The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead decreased from 22.1 percent to 21.9 percent, but those anticipating fewer jobs also decreased, from 11.4 percent to 10.5 percent.