Bank sees regional bounceback in consumer confidence
Things might be looking up here - sort of.
That's the conclusion RBC Centura reached with its most recent study of consumer attitudes and spending in the southeast. The study results, released today, showed that consumers in the region have been buoyed back to pre-Katrina spending levels. But they're not exactly wowed by prospects for the future.
RBC measures consumer confidence on a monthly index - a scale with a baseline of 100 points - first used in 2002. This index gained 25 points between January and June of this year, reaching 99.5 last month. The bank's measure shows national consumer confidence growing more slowly - nine points to hit a total of 83.9 - during the same period.
"The economic outlook in the Southeast during the first six months of 2006 is very similar to where it was in 2005, before Katrina hit," RBC Centura stated in a Tuesday news release.
"We have seen encouraging increases in consumer confidence across the nation, and the Southeast (sic) has outpaced the rest of the country," RBC economist Ivana Rupcic was quoted as saying in the release. "But there are still real concerns about the present and future of the economy."
Other details after the jump ...
RBC Centura's study also found:
* 28 percent of respondents living in the southeast described their regional economy as strong. 22 percent had the same response at the national level. Notably, only 19 percent of respondents in this region called their local economy weak.
* 16 percent of residents of the region believe the economy will be weaker in six months, while 27 percent think it will strengthen.
* Residents of the southeast appear more bullish on buying in the current real estate market.