Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
The first quarter of 2017 continued 2016’s upward swing, key U.S. economic indicators show.
The largest spike was in consumer confidence.
The March 2017 score was 125.6, the highest level since December 2000, The Conference Board reports. That growth helped deliver a year-over-year increase of 22.4 percent for the quarter.
“Consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions improved considerably,” Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, says in a statement.
The housing sector showed gains as well, with existing-home sales rising 5.7 percent and the median price for a home rising nearly 7 percent.
