Consumer confidence has sharp rebound in August

New York -- Consumers didn’t let the heat get them down in August.



Consumer confidence rebounded in August, rising 10. 5 points to the strongest reading in seven months after having fallen sharply in July.



The Conference Board said Tuesday that its index of consumer confidence rose to 101.5 in August, up from a revised July reading of 91.0. It was the best showing since January.



The Present Situation Index increased to 115.1 from last month’s 104.0. The Expectations, a measure of consumer sentiment six months out, rose to 92.5 from 82.3 in July.



“Consumers’ assessment of current conditions was considerably more upbeat, primarily due to a more favorable appraisal of the labor market,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board.



The sampling has a cutoff date of Aug. 13 for preliminary results, or a week before the deep plunge in stocks that began last Thursday.