Consumer Confidence in the US rose in April to 61.9 from 57.3 in the previous month. The figure is notably higher than expectations for a slight improvement to 58.5 from economists polled by Bloomberg. The second consecutive monthly rise comes at a time when nations around the world begin to see the effects of stimulus packages and confidence begins to improve. In Asia, Japan's confidence index rose Friday to a five-month high. Also, the German ZEW Survey to be released in the week ahead is also expected to rise. Since the early March lows, markets have recovered significantly as investors see improvements in automotive sales and financial institutions begin reporting profitable first quarter results. Despite the positive release, confidence remains at levels not seen since the recessions of the early 1980s. Also of note, the inflation expectation for the year ahead rose to three percent from two percent. While still well below the expectation of 5.1% back in July of the previous year, a rise in inflation remains a looming concern as the US has pumped trillions of dollars into restoring credit markets.
The release is not having a significant impact on currency markets, however the EURUSD looks poised to continue its downward move. Also of note, Equity markets in the US are currently lower by less than a percentage.
