Consumer Confidence Rises Between July and August
Date: 8/31/2010
Consumers are slightly more confident now than they were in July, the Conference Board reports.

The research group said Tuesday that its consumer sentiment index stands at 53.5. In July, the index was at 51 - and the month-on-month increase was larger than economists polled by Bloomberg had been expecting.

The forward-looking portion of the index rose, too. But Lynn Franco, the Conference Board's consumer research director, noted that consumers remain "apprehensive about the future."

That apprehensiveness could weigh on the broader economy, which is heavily dependent on consumer spending. Already, consumers appear reluctant to spend: Retail sales have been lackluster in recent months, and sales of both new and existing homes are near all-time lows.

The housing market isn't in complete torpor. Standard & Poor's, which produces the widely watched Case-Shiller index, reported Tuesday that home prices rose between May and June. But the company was quick to note that slackness in housing demand could send prices lower in the coming months.

The consumer economy, it appears, is in for a slow recovery.