U.S. consumer confidence remains at 17-year high in November

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. consumer confidence surged to a new 17-year high in November, driven by lowering unemployment rate and stronger economic growth, said the Conference Board on Tuesday.

The Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence rose to 129.5 in November, the highest level since registering at 132.6 in November 2000.

"Consumer confidence increased for a fifth consecutive month and remains at a 17-year high," Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at the Conference Board, said in a statement.

"Consumers' assessment of current conditions improved moderately, while their expectations regarding the short-term outlook improved more so, driven primarily by optimism of further improvements in the labor market," he said.

Consumers are entering the holiday season in very high spirits and foresee the economy expanding at a healthy pace into the early months of 2018, Franco added.

The U.S. labor market is near full employment, with the unemployment rate at 4.1 percent. The U.S. economy grew 3 percent in the third quarter.

The consumer confidence index takes into consideration Americans' views of current economic conditions and their expectations for the next six months.

Economists keep an eye on the numbers because consumer spending comprise about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity. Enditem