Investing.com - U.S. consumer confidence improved to a seven-month peak in August, boosting optimism over the health of the economy and supporting the case for a U.S. interest rate hike this year, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Conference Board, a market research group, said its index of consumer confidence jumped to 101.5 this month from a reading of 91.0 in July, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 90.9. Analysts expected the index to rise to 93.4 in August.
The Present Situation Index increased from 104.0 last month to 115.1 in August, while the Expectations Index improved to 92.5 from 82.3 in July.
Commenting on the report, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center Lynn Franco said, “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions was considerably more upbeat, primarily due to a more favorable appraisal of the labor market."
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1472 from around 1.1463 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5760 from 1.5759 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 119.64 from 119.66 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 94.20, compared to 94.28 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets were higher after the open. The Dow 30 rose 2.1%, the S&P 500 tacked on 2.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite surged 3%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,140.40 a troy ounce, compared to $1,141.50 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $39.29 a barrel from $39.34 earlier.