US home prices and confidence rise

There was rare good news on the US economy as house prices and consumer confidence rose the day before a crucial decision by the Federal Reserve on whether to take further action to boost the economy..

A fourth straight monthly increase in the S&P Case-Shiller home price index, which rose a seasonally adjusted 0.9 per cent from April to May, is more evidence that the housing market has bottomed out.

Although a swath of data has pointed to a slowdown in the US economy, the housing and confidence numbers show some resilience and may strengthen the hand of Fed officials who want to wait for more data before taking further action.

The rise in the housing index was better than the 0.5 per cent that economists had forecast after a 0.7 per cent increase in April.

Read Full Article from Financial Times

- Posted: 2012-07-31 14:16:57

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