Consumer sentiment in the US is at its highest in a year

A survey issued by the University of Michigan showed that the consumer confidence index in the United States rose to 86.5 points in the first half of April, compared to the final reading of 84.9 in March.

Analysts had expected that consumer confidence would rise to 89.6 points. The current conditions index rose to 97.2 points in the first half of April from 93.0 in March, and the future expectations index recorded 79.7 points, and inflation expectations for one year rose to 3.7% against 3.1%, while inflation expectations for five to 10 years did not change at 2.7%. Also, data released by the US Commerce Department today showed that US housing starts rose 19.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.739 million units in March and analysts had expected startups to rise to 1.613 million units in March.