US Economic Data Points To 'Real Momentum' For 2024, White House Says

• Higher consumer spending over the holiday season, real wage gains over the last nine months, and a jump in consumer confidence point to a good start for 2024, said Jared Bernstein, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
• U.S. consumer confidence increased to a five-month high in December, mirroring a nearly 14% increase in the University of Michigan's benchmark Consumer Sentiment Index, its biggest jump in more than three decades. Of note, for most of Biden's term, the Michigan index has reflected widespread pessimism about the economy among households. Still, the new data showed Americans' growing confidence that inflation was finally trending lower.
• Michigan survey director Joanne Hsu noted the upswing in December reversed "all declines from the previous four months. These trends are rooted in substantial improvements in how consumers view the trajectory of inflation."
• Indeed, inflation has eased substantially over the course of 2023. The Labor Department's Consumer Price Index began the year with annual price increases averaging 6.4%. By November, that was down to 3.1%.
• Despite the growing optimism, the Biden administration says it remains alert to geopolitical risks, including Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, which has the potential to disrupt grain markets and push up inflation again. In the Middle East, Israel predicts its war with Hamas militants will last for months, increasing the risk of regional escalation. In the Red Sea, attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have disrupted world trade.

(Source: Reuters)