Oct 28, 2009

U.S. consumer confidence up for first time since 2007By Susan FentonReuters.com

Hong Kong – Global consumer confidence is rebounding, and in the United States has risen for the first time since 2007, amid signs the world economy is picking up although spending is still restrained, a survey showed on Wednesday.

Confidence was highest in India, followed by Indonesia and Norway, and was weakest in Japan, Latvia, Portugal and South Korea, although in Korea it had improved markedly, according to a quarterly survey by The Nielsen Company, conducted between September 28 and October 16.

“Consumer confidence is rising faster in BRIC countries than other markets, driven by increasing job prospects,” Oliver Rust, managing director of Nielsen Hong Kong, told Reuters.

In the United States and Europe, high unemployment continued to discourage spending on big-ticket items although confidence had improved as the worst appeared to be over for those economies, New York-based Nielsen said.

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